USD3 bln needed for post-Haiyan rebuilding

The Philippines will need about USD3 billion to rebuild the various parts of the country destroyed by typhoon Haiyan, according to President Benigno Aquino.

The official death toll stands at 6,033 to date, with the authorities still looking for 1,779 people listed as missing. About a million houses were destroyed, leaving four million people homeless, according to the government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

However, Haiyan’s impact on the insurance industry is set to be relatively small because the Philippines has one of the lowest non-life insurance penetration rates in the region. Estimates of the expected insurance payout for losses incurred in the disaster range from USD100 million to USD700 million.