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For example, rates to reinsure U.S. property catastrophe risk jumped 50% this year as climate change takes its toll.

“I reinsured my neck this week, and X-rays showed a change in the vertebra,” Bass said at the time.

Reinsurers, which insure the insurers, are likely to face the bulk of any claims as "high-severity exposures are typically reinsured", Fitch said.

A large share of losses will probably be reinsured by a global panel of reinsurers, Fitch said, adding that this will add pressure to first-half earnings.

The bulk of those insurance claims will then likely be reinsured through a programme run by the wider International Group of P&I Clubs, Smith at McGill said.