US winter insured losses fell in 2014: Munich Re

The cold and snowy US winter of 2014/15 is estimated to have caused insured losses of $2.3 billion, a decrease when compared with $2.5 billion of insured losses for the 2013/14 winter season.

This is the finding of Munich Re, which used data from the its NatCatSERVICE and Property Claim Services (PCS), to establish that the 11 major winter storms in the 2014/15 season caused economic losses of $3.2 billion. This is compared to $4.4 billion of economic losses in the 2013/14 winter season.

Mark Bove, senior GEO research specialist, Munich Re America, said: “The majority of winter storm claims are due to frozen pipes bursting, resulting in water damage to buildings and personal property. The remainder of insured losses across the winter season were primarily associated with roof damage due to the weight of snow and ice, freezing rain events downing trees and power lines, ice damming on roofs, and automobile accidents due to slippery driving conditions.”

The coldest temperatures during the US winter season 2014/15 occurred in February 2015, while record warm temperatures were registered simultaneously in other parts of the country, said Dr Eberhard Faust, of Munich Re’s geo risks research/corporate climate centre.

“If divided in two parts, the eastern part of the US in February had temperatures more than 9°F below average, while temperatures in the western US were more than 7°F above average,” Faust said.

Bove said: “It is currently unclear whether human-made climate change played any role in the severity and duration of the 2015 winter season across eastern North America. However, new research investigating links between climate change and the northern hemisphere winter give some indications that the arctic polar vortex is more likely to become destabilised in a warmer world, potentially leading to more mid-latitude cold outbreaks.”