Impact Forecasting launches its Global Catastrophe Recap: First Half of 2016 report, which evaluates the impact of the natural disaster events that occurred worldwide in the first six months of the year.
The report reveals that for the first half of 2016 preliminary global economic losses reached USD98 billion and global insured losses USD30 billion – their highest levels since 2011, but still slightly below their 10-year averages of USD112 billion and USD31 billion respectively. However, the losses were slightly above the longer-term averages of USD84 billion and USD24 billion dating to 2000.
The percentage of global economic losses covered by public and private insurers was 30 percent, slightly above the 10-year average of 28 percent due to the prevalence of U.S. losses where insurance penetration is higher. The U.S. accounted for 47 percent of global insurance losses sustained by public and private insurance entities in the period under review.
From an economic loss perspective, earthquake was the costliest disaster type during the period (USD34 billion), comprising 30 percent of the loss total, mainly attributable to two powerful earthquakes that struck Japan’s Kumamoto region on April 14 and April 16.
From an insurance perspective, severe convective storm (SCS) was the costliest peril (USD12.3 billion), comprising 42 percent of the loss total. Most of the insurable losses from SCS resulted from major thunderstorm events in the United States that prompted widespread hail, damaging straight-line winds, and tornadoes. The U.S. state of Texas alone recorded roughly 55 percent of all insured SCS losses.
Meanwhile, the report highlights that there were at least six individual billion-dollar global insured events (five of which were weather-related) during the first half of the year, and at least 22 separate billion-dollar economic loss events – including at least 20 that were weather-related, led by the U.S. (nine events), APAC (seven events), Americas (three events), and EMEA (three events).
Steve Bowen, director within Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting team, said: “The first half of 2016 ended up as the costliest on an economic and insured loss basis since 2011. The year has already been highlighted by a significant earthquake sequence in Japan, the Fort McMurray wildfire in Canada, flooding in Western Europe and a series of extensive hailstorms in the United States. With the pending transition to La Niña during the second half of the year, there will be a heightened focus on the risk of flooding across parts of Asia and hurricane landfall in the Atlantic Ocean basin.
The financial toll of weather disasters during La Niña years has historically been among the costliest on record, and so we will wait to see whether this trend plays out in the coming months.”
To view the full Impact Forecasting Global Catastrophe Recap: First Half of 2016 report, please click here
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