US cat losses grow 10% in H1

At just over $15 billion, 2017 was the largest first half for insured losses since 2011, which had $24 billion in insured losses, according to the PCS H1 2017 Catastrophe Review.

The number of events occurring in the first six months was the most since 1980, continuing the trend of increased frequency. And although the average loss per event dropped a bit from last year to this year, there were still four events with insured losses above $1 billion, according to the report.

Further, 2017’s first-half catastrophe losses exceeded the ten-year historical average (2008 to 2017) by 16 percent. And with 14 events subject to resurvey, the first-half result could increase. Frequency was also above average—24 percent higher than the ten-year average of 22 events.

Texas remains the hardest-hit state of the year, with 15 first-half events (up from 14 last year) resulting in insured losses of approximately $3.4 billion. Nebraska was second after Texas, with two events causing just over $550 million in losses, followed by Missouri ($440 million), Arkansas ($410 million), and Illinois ($360 million).

Personal losses accounted for 65 percent of first-half activity (approximately $10 billion), followed by auto losses at 20 percent and commercial losses at 15 percent. The unusually high rate of auto losses is the direct result of the hailstorms in Texas.

In Canada, catastrophe losses fell significant year over year because of the Fort McMurray wildfire event in the first half of 2016. Five events resulted in C$220 million in losses in the first half, making it one of the lightest since 2010.

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