mumbai rise in global reinsurance rates this year may force indian insurers to shell out extra for the upcoming renewals thus leading to an increase in premium rates on insurance covers global reinsurance companies hit by natural calamities such as earthquake in japan and floods in thailand and australia will charge 1520 higher for policies that come up for renewal on january 1 unlike the western market reinsurance programmes for the asiapacific begins on april 1 general insurance indias sole reinsurer has taken a hit of more than 900 crore during the year due to natural disasters in japan thailand australia and new zealand terrorism insurance rates got affected after 911 attack in the us even though the attack happened in the us terrorism risk rates all over the world went up so even if the catastrophes have happened in other parts of the world reinsurers will pass on the hit to the indian market said yogesh lohiya chairman and managing director of gic treaty reinsurance is reinsurance of insured exposures which are accepted within the terms of the reinsurance contract called a treaty there are two kinds of treaty reinsurance proportional and nonproportional in proportional treaty reinsurers pay for losses in the same proportion as the amount of the premium they receive while in nonproportional arrangement reinsurers pay an amount greater than the threshold according to a swiss re report total insured losses have doubled in 2011 compared with the previous year during the year the global insurance industry took a hit of 108 billion from natural catastrophes and manmade disasters against 48 billion in 2010 claims from natural catastrophes alone reached 103 billion in 2011 compared with 43 billion a year ago experts said with the rising number of catastrophes in the international market it would be difficult to get proportional reinsurance large global reinsurers such as munich re and swiss re renew twothirds of their annual treaties with various nonlife insurers in january while the rest are renewed in april and july for liabilities below 1000 crore reinsurers have a 70 share for mega risks reinsurers have more than 90 of the share it is reasonable to assume that rates will increase because of losses that took place in 2011 there will be rise for indian companies as well though there has not been any catastrophe in india indian insurers had exposure to thailand floods said dhananjay n date md of swiss re india