The world did not see as many 'mega' catastrophes this year but still had its fair share of smaller natural disasters, according to insurance giant Munich Re Group.

It says that insurers around the world havepicked up a damage repair bill of around £15 billion so far in 2007 - double the 2006 figure.

The figures also show that the total number of natural catastrophes recorded in 2007 stands at 950.

Some of the biggest insured losses happened in Europe.

These included the devastating summer floods in Britain which cost insurers £3 billion.

There are concerns within the insurance industry that unless adequate measures are taken by governments worldwide to reduce carbon emissions, freak weather patterns could increase in number, crippling insurers.

Munich Re board member, Dr Torsten Jeworrek, said: "The trend in respect of weather extremes shows that climate change is already taking effect and that more such extremes are to be expected in the future."

Signs that governments are starting to take the issue more seriously have started to emerge, as shown by the recent 'Bali Roadmap' environmental conference which set targets for global carbon emission reductions.

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