Nat cats hand insurers $52bn bill in H1 on second costliest US storm season

Natural catastrophes likely put a $52 billion bill to insurers worldwide on $138 billion in economic damages, analysts at global reinsurance brokerage  Gallagher Re said of the six-month bean counting.

Of the total, $46 billion got billed against $92 billion in economic losses on weather-related events, counting out earthquakes and other non-atmospheric perils.

For all perils, the US accounted for 76% of global insured losses, but just 38% of global economic losses, pointing to a sharp continuing protection gap in many jurisdictions.

Despite headlines including earthquakes and floods, convective storms in the US stole centre stage.

“The US minimally incurred its second costliest H1 for the [severe convective storm] peril on record," authors claimed.

“A very active multi-month pattern spawned a prolific series of outbreaks across the US that led to a minimum of $34 billion in insured losses,” authors said to account for 65% of all global H1 insured losses.

And even in that category, hail damage upstaged the more dramatic stories from the US's 812 confirmed tornado touchdowns. Of the H1 hail record, 729 instances included diameters in excess of 2 inches (5.1 cm).

Elsewhere, authors highlighted the Turkey earthquake at $5.3 billion in insured losses (from $45 billion in economic losses), over $9.7 billion on Italian floods, $2.3 billion insured losses on New Zealand floods, and a billion-dollar insurance bill for parts of Germany and France following storms.

The total H1 insured loss was 18% higher than the decadal average of $44 billion and 39% above the 21st century average of $38 billion, Gallagher Re estimated.

Authors appeared to put that overshoot in part to the impact of climate change.

“Anomalously warm conditions fuelled by an influence from the transition to El Niño and the influence of climate change aided in the ignition of catastrophic wildfires in Canada, amplified severe drought conditions in South America, Europe, and Asia, and heatwaves left hundreds of people dead in parts of North America and Asia,” authors claimed.

Gallagher Re warned that its H1 estimates remained preliminary and may be subject to change for future tallies.

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