Disasters caused $122 billion in insured losses in 2022

A building that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian at Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on October 9 Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Hurricane Ian and other natural catastrophes have caused an estimated $115 billion (CHF109 billion) of insured losses so far this year, well above the ten-year average of $81 billion, says Swiss Re.

Natural and man-made disasters did economic damage of $268 billion, of which $122 billion was covered by insurance, making 2022 one of the most expensive yet for the sector, it said in a statementExternal link on Thursday.

Ian, a category-4 hurricane which struck Florida in September, was the single largest loss-causing event of the year to date, with an estimated insured loss of $50 billion-$65 billion. That would put it second only to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Swiss Re said that 2022 was the second consecutive year in which estimated insured losses surpassed $100 billion, in line with a 5-7% average annual increase over the past decade.

Secondary perils such as floods and hailstorms caused more than $50 billion in insured losses, it said.

Extreme weather events

Widespread flooding in Australia after torrential rains in February and March caused an estimated $4 billion in damage in the country’s costliest-ever natural catastrophe.

France suffered the most severe series of hailstorms ever observed, with insured losses reaching an estimated €5 billion (CHF4.9 billion).

Swiss Re estimated that more than 11,000 people have died in natural and man-made disasters so far this year, excluding the death toll from severe heatwaves in Europe.

“Extreme weather events have led to high insured losses in 2022, underpinning a risk on the rise and unfolding on every continent. Urban development, wealth accumulation in disaster-prone areas, inflation and climate change are key factors at play, turning extreme weather into ever rising natural catastrophe losses,” said Martin Bertogg, head of catastrophe perils at Swiss Re.

“When Hurricane Andrew struck 30 years ago, a $20 billion loss event had never occurred before – now there have been seven such hurricanes in just the past six years.”