Colombian Insurers’ Earthquake Claims Reach $3.7 Trillion COP a Month After Disaster

Insured earthquake claims reach $3.7 trillion COP in a month

Colombian insurers had recorded an estimated $3.7 trillion COP in claims value tied to the August 10, 2026, earthquake as of September 7, according to the fourth weekly damage report published by Fasecolda, formally the Federación de Aseguradores Colombianos (Federation of Colombian Insurers), the trade group representing the country’s insurance companies. The figure is up $1 trillion COP from the previous week’s report and comes one month after a magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck near San José del Palmar, in the Chocó department, according to Semana. As of September 7, Colombia’s Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (National Disaster Risk Management Unit, or UNGRD) had counted 331 deaths, 111 people missing and 4,505 injured, with nearly 467,000 people affected across 498 municipalities, Semana reported.

The estimated claims value has grown roughly tenfold since insurers’ first weekly report on August 14, when it stood at $370 billion COP. It rose to $1.2 trillion COP by August 21, $2.67 trillion COP by August 28 and $3.7 trillion COP in the report released September 8, covering the period through September 7.

Estimated earthquake insurance claims value in Colombia grew from $370 billion COP to $3.7 trillion COP across four weekly Fasecolda reports. (Chart: Finance Colombia, based on Fasecolda data)

Insurers had received 68,270 claims as of the September 7 cutoff, up from 66,370 in the prior report, a 3% increase in eight days. That volume is up 550% from the 10,465 claims logged in insurers’ first balance during the initial emergency response, before the weekly reporting series began. Claims have been filed in 451 municipalities across 31 departments, according to Fasecolda.

The number of earthquake-related insurance claims filed in Colombia rose from 13,855 to 68,270 across four weekly Fasecolda reports. (Chart: Finance Colombia, based on Fasecolda data)

Insurers have paid out $95.08 billion COP in indemnities to affected policyholders, up 121% from the prior weekly report, funds Fasecolda said are reaching homeowners, businesses and residential co-ownership associations directly. The disbursed total remains a small fraction of the $3.7 trillion COP insurers expect to eventually pay, reflecting how early the claims process remains a month into a filing window that runs two years from the date of the earthquake.

Gustavo Morales, Fasecolda’s chief executive, framed the figures as a reflection of both the scale of the damage and the industry’s remaining workload.

“A month after the earthquake, our priority continues to be standing by the people, families, businesses and co-ownership associations affected.”

— Gustavo Morales, chief executive, Fasecolda

The five hardest-hit departments by claims volume are Valle del Cauca, with 28,201 claims, $46.22 billion COP paid out and an estimated $1.35 trillion COP in total claims value; Risaralda, with 14,755 claims, $26.34 billion COP paid and an estimated $1.30 trillion COP in claims value; Quindío, with 8,158 claims, $12.45 billion COP paid and an estimated $256 billion COP in claims value; Caldas, with 3,998 claims, $4.68 billion COP paid and an estimated $220 billion COP in claims value; and Antioquia, with 5,847 claims, $660 million COP paid and an estimated $106 billion COP in claims value.

Valle del Cauca and Risaralda account for the largest share of estimated earthquake insurance claims value by department. (Chart: Finance Colombia, based on Fasecolda data)

By line of business, earthquake coverage — which Fasecolda groups together with homeowners’ and fire policies — accounts for the large majority of reserved claims value nationally: 63,786 claims and a $3.34 trillion COP reserve. Business-interruption coverage, known in Colombia as lucro cesante, accounts for just five claims but a $33.9 billion COP reserve, reflecting the size of the commercial policies involved. Automobile coverage accounts for 1,219 claims and a $22.9 billion COP reserve, and occupational-risk coverage, which insures workplace injury and death, accounts for 1,113 claims and a $16.6 billion COP reserve.

Earthquake, home and fire coverage account for the large majority of Colombia’s national earthquake-related insurance reserve. (Chart: Finance Colombia, based on Fasecolda data)

Fasecolda has published a claims guide on fasecolda.com intended to walk affected policyholders through what to do if they suffered damage, how to report a claim, which coverage may apply and the steps to file with their insurer. The federation reiterated that affected policyholders have up to two years from the date of the earthquake to file a claim, and can do so directly with their insurance company or through their broker without an intermediary.

The insurance-claims tally follows emergency measures Colombia’s financial regulator, the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (Financial Superintendency of Colombia, superfinanciera.gov.co), proposed within days of the earthquake to ease the burden on affected borrowers and claimants, including extended loan terms, waived default fees and fast-track insurance payment channels, as Finance Colombia reported in the days after the disaster.

Headline photo by Rupert Stebbings