The threat of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism is increasing and would cause major uninsured losses, a report warns.

Although malicious CBRN incidents are rare, the consequences could be catastrophic, and they are becoming more likely due to technologies such as drones and bioengineering and the growing number of violent non-state actors, according to the joint report from the Geneva Association and the International Forum of Terrorism Risk (Re)Insurance Pools. 

The scale of possible losses “far outstrip what the (re)insurance sector can safety and sensibly underwrite”, meaning most traditional property and casualty policies exclude the risk. 

Risk sharing between insurers and governments is crucial, the report says. 

Some national terrorism pools and governments are better prepared than others, and co-operation among pools, including modelling of risk, could increase capital appetite. 

There were 273 CBRN attacks between 1990 and 2023, leading to 6140 casualties, according to the University of Maryland. 

The report details some recent incidents – accidental and malicious. 

Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant catastrophe, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, was estimated to cost $US210 billion, including damage to buildings and infrastructure, plus tourism losses. 

The Novichok poisoning of a Russian double agent and his daughter in the UK in 2018 led to more than £150 million ($203 million) of decontamination, loss of business, and police and military costs. 

It was not designated a terrorist incident because the British government concluded the Russian state was responsible, and although there was economic harm, business interruption policies mostly did not respond because there was no physical damage.