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.

Allianz Commercial has announced Stephen Brown has taken on the role of strategic account manager.Mr Brown will be in charge of the strategic ownership of certain broker partner accounts - such as rel...

Eight members of the Allianz Commercial team have recently returned from a sailing trip around the Canary Islands.The Voyage to Development programme offers staff the chance to improve leadership skil...

Allianz Commercial is celebrating the first anniversary of its partnership with the AA.The company stated the arrangement had been a big hit - with its motor fleet policyholders being offered a range ...