PERILS: Windstorm Tini initial loss estimate €245m, Dirk upped to €352m

PERILS AG, the provider of industry-wide European catastrophe insurance exposure, data and indices, has announced a first estimate of insured property losses for European windstorm Tini of €245m and an updated loss estimate for windstorm Dirk of €352m.

Windstorm Tini, also known as Darwin, impacted the UK and Ireland on 12th and 13th February 2014, with the majority of the losses occurring in those two countries. PERILS’ initial estimate of the insured property market loss for Tini is €245m, which is approximately $340m or £205m, based on ultimate gross loss data as reported by primary insurance companies.

In line with PERILS reporting schedule an updated estimate of the insured market loss caused by windstorm Tini will be made available by 12th May 2014, three months after the event start date.

PERILS AG explained:

On 12 and 13 February 2014, an extra-tropical cyclone named Tini caused significant damage across Ireland and the UK. Tini was one of a series of storms that impacted this region during the winter of 2013/2014. Strong winds affected large parts of Ireland, with peak gusts of well over 100km/h reported across most of the country. The highest gust of 159km/h was recorded at Shannon Airport. The highest gust experienced in the UK was 180km/h registered at Great Dun Fell in England’s Pennine mountain range (848m a.s.l.).

European windstorm Dirk

In the announcement published this morning PERILS AG has also provided its second updated industry loss estimate for European windstorm Dirk which struck the UK and France from 23rd December to 25th December 2013. PERILS initial loss estimate for Dirk was €275m, but this has now been increased to €352m, which is approximately $485m or £295m. The estimate excludes losses indemnified by government schemes such as CatNat in France.

In line with PERILS typical loss reporting schedule, the third loss estimate for windstorm Dirk will be published on 23rd June 2014.

UK floods

PERILS also announced today that it will not report on the recent UK flood events. The flooding, while severe and causing heavy insurance industry losses, do not qualify as an event that PERILS will capture and report on. PERILS explained; “Having applied prevailing reinsurance event definitions (with hours clauses of 168h or 504h), no eligible time period could be identified during which the floods caused a market-wide insured property damage exceeding the PERILS capturing threshold of EUR 200m per event.”

PERILS reports on catastrophe events for the reinsurance industry so only on events which would qualify under the terms of prevailing reinsurance contract definitions of events. Despite the severe nature of the UK floods they losses are spread over a long period of time meaning that it will not be reported on.

Update on all events investigated by PERILS AG from this winter

	Event name	Event start date	Peril	Status	Estimate
	Ulla	14 Feb 2014	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Tini	12 Feb 2014	Windstorm	Qualifying	€245m
	UK Floods	Various – Jan/Feb 2014	Flood	Non-qualifying
	Ruth	08 Feb 2014	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Qumaira	06 Feb 2014	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Petra	04 Feb 2014	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Nadja	31 Jan 2014	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Christina	05 Jan 2014	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Anne	02 Jan 2014	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Gerhard	01 Jan 2014	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Felix	30 Dec 2013	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Erich	26 Dec 2013	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Dirk	23 Dec 2013	Windstorm	Qualifying	€352 million
	Bernd	18 Dec 2013	Windstorm	Non-qualifying
	Xaver	05 Dec 2013	Windstorm	Qualifying	€727 million
	Christian	27 Oct 2013	Windstorm	Qualifying	€1.068 billion