With 2009 coming to a close, this week we’re taking a look at the most popular stories of the year.

Chart: 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu Lethality Rate 1.98 Percent: As of May 6, 2009, there have been 1,516 cases confirmed globally by the World Health Organization (WHO), with 30 fatalities. Consequently, H1N1 has shown a lethality rate of only 1.98 percent. While any loss of life is tragic, the implications of swine flu have not reached pandemic proportions.

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Chart: World ROL Index, Jan 1, 2009: The Guy Carpenter World ROL Index gained 8 percent, after two years of substantial declines. Despite the magnitude of catastrophes and financial losses, the turnaround in pricing was substantially less pronounced than those that followed Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, and Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005.

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David Rains, Global Head of the Life, Accident & Health Specialty, discusses the July 1, 2009 life, accident, and health reinsurance renewal in this new GC Capital Ideas podcast. Click the audio player below to listen to the interview, or download the interview in a file that will work with your iPod.

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David Rains, FSA, MAAA, Managing Director and Practice Leader — Life, Accident & Health Specialty
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The lethality of the H1N1 swine flu outbreak has declined over the past month. As of May 6, 2009, H1N1 had a lethality rate of 1.98 percent. This has fallen to 0.61 percent as of June 3, 2009.

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David Rains, FSA, MAAA, Managing Director and Practice Leader — Life, Accident & Health Specialty
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The recent H1N1 swine flu outbreak has garnered considerable attention, but evidence that the outbreak will become a statistically significant pandemic event remains sparse. As of May 6, 2009, there have been 1,516 cases confirmed globally by the World Health Organization (WHO), with 30 fatalities. Consequently, H1N1 has shown a lethality rate of only 1.98 percent. While any loss of life is tragic, the implications of swine flu have not reached pandemic proportions.

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As of May 6, 2009, there have been 1,516 cases confirmed globally by the World Health Organization (WHO), with 30 fatalities. Consequently, H1N1 has shown a lethality rate of only 1.98 percent. While any loss of life is tragic, the implications of swine flu have not reached pandemic proportions.

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To date, most cases of H1N1 swine flu have been confirmed in Mexico; 29 deaths have resulted from 822 WHO-confirmed cases. The United States and Canada have reported 403 and 165 cases of H1N1 respectively, with one fatality in the former and none in the latter. Overall, there have been 1,516 confirmed cases of H1N1 and 30 fatalities. Outside Mexico and the United States, there have been no confirmed deaths related to H1N1 swine flu.

Meanwhile, speculation is spreading much faster than the disease. Wikipedia lists nearly 3,000 suspected cases of H1N1 swine flu in Mexico, with 101 suspected deaths.

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A deadly outbreak of a swine flu virus first detected in Mexico continues to cause global concern, as the number of cases detected worldwide rises. On April 29, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its flu alert level from four to five, just one stage below a full-blown pandemic in which there is widespread human to human transmission. The WHO said the upgrade signaled that a “pandemic is imminent” and prompted the organization to advise countries to activate their pandemic plans, including heightened surveillance and infection-control measures. The WHO’s level five alert indicates “human to human transmission in at least two countries.”

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A deadly outbreak of a swine flu virus first detected in Mexico has sparked global concern, as a rising number of cases have been detected worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday raised its flu pandemic alert level from three to four, two steps short of declaring a full pandemic. The WHO said the upgrade signalled a “significant increase in risk of a pandemic,” and prompted the organization to advise countries to now focus on mitigating the effects of the virus rather than containing it. The WHO’s level four alert means the virus is showing a sustained ability to pass from human to human, and is able to cause community-level outbreaks. However, the organization stressed that “a pandemic is not considered inevitable” at this stage.

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