hail

Climate change is seen as a driver of higher frequency of damaging hail storm events according to specialty re/insurer Chaucer, who highlights a 267% increase in European hail storms in the past five years.

Severe convective storm (SCS) losses in the United States drove insurance and reinsurance market losses of $50 billion to $60 billion in 2023, but while this was above-average, risk modeller Karen Clark & Company warns that annual losses from the peril could be much higher.

AXA Climate, the parametric specialist risk transfer managing general agent (MGA) unit of global insurance and reinsurance company AXA, has partnered with Hailios, a company that leverages technology and sensors to help close gaps in hail protection.

Regular readers know we love a parametric trigger where the data inputs are sensor-derived and located on-site for the insured or covered party. Hailios is doing this for hail coverage, an area where significant gaps in insurance protection are often evident.

Once again a large hail storm event looks set to drive at least economic losses towards the billion dollar mark, perhaps insurance and reinsurance market losses too.

Severe convective storm, thunderstorm and severe weather impacts reached a record high last year, as the peril drove the largest share of annual natural disaster losses that were covered by insurance and reinsurance in the United States during 2020, according to data from Munich Re.

Severe storms, convective weather and large hail across the eastern two-thirds of the United States from August 8th to 12th, including the Derecho that struck the Iowa and Illinois region, is estimated to have cost around $6.5 billion, with more than half of the total likely covered by insurance.

The United States has again been hit by a prolonged period of severe weather this week, with severe storms, convective weather, large hail storm events and a Derecho that struck the Iowa and Illinois region, all adding up to multi-billion dollar economic losses, with most of the wind and hail insured.

The United States and Canada experienced multi-billion dollar insurance and reinsurance losses from severe weather during the month of June 2020, with hail storms in Calgary and convective weather in the U.S. driving the largest share, according to Impact Forecasting.

A recent severe hail storm event that impacted the Calgary area of Alberta, Canada is expected to become on the most costly hail loss events in the country’s history, with economic costs likely to exceed C$1 billion (US $735m), the majority of which will be covered by insurance and possibly some reinsurance as well.