Given the low insurance take-up in the Philippines, especially for homes, the insurance industry expects to see a wide divergence between insured and economic losses due to the 7.8 magnitude offshore earthquake that struck the southern part of the country on 8 June 2026. The Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) in a communication on 08 June 2026 extended its deepest sympathies to the families, communities, and local governments of Southern Mindanao affected b

El Niño conditions are expected to return and influence global temperatures and rainfall patterns, including in the United States, in the coming months, according to the United Nations. The weather phenomenon, which is part of a recurring global weather cycle, has an 80 percent chance of forming between June and August this year and a 90 percent chance to do so before November, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UN’s leading climate body, said on Tuesday. The la

Manila, Philippines — June 8, 2026 “This tragedy underscores why being adequately insured against catastrophic perils is not a luxury but a necessity. Our country sits squarely on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and Nat Cat risk here is not confined to earthquakes—it extends to typhoons, floods, and storm surge. We are presently seeing a flurry of seismic and volcanic activity even as a strong La Niña is set to exacerbate the coming typhoon season. The industry exists precisely for

THE Pacific is warming again, and the warning lights are already on. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has raised its El Niño alert, pegging the probability of onset between June and August 2026 at 79 percent, with European models flagging the possibility of a record-breaking “super” event that could stretch into 2027. The last strong El Niño in 2023 to 2024 cost Philippine agriculture roughly P57 billion. A super event would be