Insured losses from Beirut blast seen around $3 billion: sources

Insured losses from the Beirut port warehouse explosion are likely to total around $3 billion, similar to those from an explosion at the Chinese port of Tianjin in 2015, industry sources and analysts say.The blast on Tuesday, the biggest in Beirut’s history, killed 154 people, destroyed a swathe of the city and sent seismic shockwaves around the region.Officials have said the blast might have caused economic losses of $15 billion.Much of these would not have been insured.However, Swiss Re estimated the insured losses for explosions at a warehouse in Tianjin, which killed at least 116 people, at between $2.5 and $3.5 billion.“Drawing a comparison with Tianjin, you will see significant insured losses,” said Ghislain Le Cam, director, analytics at AM Best.