Posted by Heidi Schwartz
Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield (the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc), has issued its mid-year natural disaster analysis, which aggregates the key global natural disaster perils data for the first half of 2013. The data shows that economic losses from global natural disasters during the six month period ending June 30 totaled $85 billion* (compared to $75 billion in 2012), which is approximately 15% lower than the 10 year average of $100 billion (2003-2012).
Insured losses for the period reached $20 billion–approximately 20% below the 10 year average of $25 billion. Roughly 50% of the insured losses resulting from natural disaster events were recorded in the United States.
In order of size, the five largest economic loss events in the first half of 2013 were the Central Europe floods during May/June ($22 billion); the China earthquake on April 20 ($14 billion); the Brazil drought ($8.3 billion); the U.S. severe weather outbreak from May 18-22 ($4.5 billion); and the China drought ($4.2 billion).
Meanwhile, the first half of 2013 comprised seven billion dollar insured loss events: the Central Europe floods during May/June ($5.3 billion); the U.S. severe weather outbreak of May 18-22 ($2.5 billion); the U.S. severe weather outbreak of March 18-20 ($1.25 billion); the U.S. severe weather outbreak of May 26-June 2 ($1.20 billion); the Australia floods during January ($1.04 billion); the Canada floods during June ($1 billion); and a U.S. winter storm in early April ($1 billion).
To download a PDF of this report on the catastrophe events that occurred during the first half of 2013, please follow this link.
*All totals are based on U.S. dollars.
