2015 U.S. convective storm & flood insured losses hit $4bn: Aon Benfield

The insurance industry loss toll from convective storms, so severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and hail, and the flooding they have caused in recent weeks has jumped again to reach $4 billion, according to Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting unit.

Another week of severe thunderstorm and convective weather across the United States has again raised the insured loss total for 2015 to date. After a slow start to the U.S. severe thunderstorm and tornado season, the losses have been mounting quickly with now $6 billion of economic loss and $4 billion of insured loss since the start of April.

At the time it is impossible to say what the impact to reinsurance companies and potentially ILS fund managers may be, but as the season progresses the chance that insurers need to call on reinsurance programs, and that some ILS managers collateralized reinsurance investments could be hit, increases.

Tornado experience in the U.S. remains below average for this point in the year, but the number has been increasing quickly and the gap between the average trend line and the 2015 trend is narrowing.

In the last week, June 3rd to 11th, the Storm Prediction Center initial reports suggest that there were 40 reports of tornadoes, 558 of damaging winds and 334 of large hail events. If that rate of occurrence continues the insured loss tally will rise further in the coming weeks.

As at the June 9th Impact Forecasting report that total catastrophe and weather insured losses for the U.S. in 2015 had reached $8.34 billion. Globally the total is put at $11.94 billion, demonstrating that U.S. catastrophe losses continue to drive global insurance and reinsurance industry experience and why the U.S. is ground zero for property catastrophe re/insurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS).

Also read:

– Over $1bn insured loss from U.S. severe weather in May: Aon Benfield.

– U.S. severe thunderstorm losses reached $3.1bn by mid-May: Aon Benfield.