Insured cat losses continue increasing.(Reporter's Notebook)

Economic and insured losses continued to increase at a high level during 2003, according to a recent analysis by Munich Re. Right up until the last days of the year, when earthquakes jarred California and Iran, 2003 was marked by a series of severe natural hazard events, with the number of fatalities far exceeding the long-term average.

Although the number of natural catastrophes recorded in 2003 was around 700, about the same level as the previous year, global economic losses rose to more than $60 billion from 2002's $55 billion. These were mainly the result of tornado