Global insured disaster losses estimated $42bn for H1 2021: Aon

Global insurance and reinsurance market losses from natural disasters and catastrophes are estimated to have reached $42 billion for the first-half of 2021 by broker Aon, which is 2% higher than the 10-year average.

The broking group said that while this US $42 billion of first-half catastrophe insured losses is only 2% higher than the 10-year average ($41 billion), it is 39% higher than the 21st Century average ($30 billion), and 101% higher than the average of all years since 1980 ($21 billion).

In total, Aon estimates that natural disaster cost the global economy around $93 billion in the first-half of 2021.

The economic loss tally is some 32% lower than the previous decade ($136 billion), 16% lower since 2000 ($110 billion), but 9% higher than the average of all years since 1980 ($85 billion).

All of these numbers remain preliminary, the broking group said today.

Aon’s data comes from a minimum of 163 natural disaster events that occurred in H1 2021, which was below the 21st Century average (191) and median (197).

Interestingly and having ramifications for the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market (in particular collateralised reinsurance), given its focus, the number of disaster events were notably below the 21st Century average in all regions except the United States, Aon said.

In terms of loss of life, natural disasters claimed 3,000 lives during the first-half, which is well below the long-term average (since 1980) of 38,900 and the median of 7,600.

Across the events, Aon counted 22 that drove billion dollar economic losses, the majority of which were weather related.

On an insured loss basis, there were at least 10 separate billion dollar industry catastrophe loss events, Aon said.

The costliest was the US winter storm and freezing weather delivered by the polar vortex, which Aon pegs at the generally accepted $15 billion level.

After that, the severe weather event in Europe in June drove a $3.4 billion industry loss, the Fukushima offshore earthquake a $2.5 billion loss and another US severe weather event $2.5 billion as well.

You can see thee biggest insured loss events below:

This year was the first time that the severe winter weather peril was the leading driver of losses in Aon’s Catastrophe Insight database, thanks to the contribution from the US polar vortex event.