insured catastrophe losses

Canadian property and casualty insurer, Intact Financial Corporation, has reported pre-tax catastrophe losses of an estimated CA $421 million, net of reinsurance, for the second quarter of 2023, driven by the record-setting series of wildfires in the country.

The insurance and reinsurance industry loss from hurricane Fiona’s impacts in Canada in 2022 is now estimated at above C$800 million by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), a 21% increase since its last estimate.

Since January 2020, storms and floods impacting Australia have driven more than three-quarters of a million claims and an enormous AU $12.3 billion of losses to the insurance and reinsurance market.

Insurance and reinsurance market losses from hurricane Fiona’s impacts in Canada are estimated at C$660 million by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).

Globally, catastrophe losses that fall to the insurance and reinsurance industry are already near $100 billion, according to analysis from broker Aon, which estimates the total at $99 billion so far, including an amount for hurricane Ian.

So-called secondary perils are driving insured losses around the globe, according to reinsurance giant Swiss Re, who also said the fingerprints of climate change are evident in the increasing frequency and severity of losses.

Global reinsurance firm Munich Re estimates that global insured losses from natural catastrophe events reached $34 billion in the first-half of 2022, as over half of the economic loss tally was covered.

The insurance and reinsurance industry faced above average catastrophe losses from across the globe in the first-half of 2022, with the total coming to $39 billion, some 18% above the average, according to data from Aon.

Information from sources suggests that some primary insurance carriers are likely to recover significant amounts from their reinsurance arrangements after hurricane Ida, while a number of insurers are likely to exhaust their reinsurance towers completely, and some catastrophe bonds remain exposed.

Catastrophe risk modelling firm RMS has now added a further $6 billion to $9 billion of insurance and reinsurance market losses to its industry estimate for recent hurricane Ida, adding the expected flood toll further north and taking the total estimate range to $31 billion to $44 billion.