Munich Re pegs 2023 natural disasters with $95bn insurance bill
Natural disasters likely rendered $250 billion in damage in 2023 to match the prior year figure while putting a $95 billion bill to insurers, still below the $105 billion 5Y average but above the $90 billion 10Y average tally, analysts at Munich Re have declared.
“The year 2023 was once again characterised by extremely high insured losses from natural disasters, despite the fact that there were no extreme individual losses,” board member Thomas Blunck said.
The 2023 event profile went without a major driving “mega-disaster” in any highly developed country, and was built instead on a large number of severe regional storms.
Such storms destroyed assets worth around $66 billion in North America, of which $50 billion was insured, and $10 billion in Europe, of which $8 billion was insured.
“Such high thunderstorm losses have never been recorded before in the USA or in Europe,” authors claimed.
North America once again suffered the highest losses worldwide, although down as a portion of the global whole to 40% versus a 5Y average of 57%. Mark overall losses at $100 billion, of which around $67 billion constituted insured losses.
Natural disaster losses in Europe ran to $83 billion, largely due to the earthquake in Turkey. Insured losses came to around $19 billion.
In the Asia-Pacific and Africa, overall losses of $64 billion were down slightly from $66 billion in 2022. Approximately $8 billion of the sum was insured. Typhoon Doksuri combined with floods in New Zealand to build the sum. Japan was largely spared.
Climate change is driving totals, with weather disasters exacerbated by extremely high temperatures, Munich Re claimed.
Earthquakes in southeast Turkey and Syria in February held position as the costliest event to end-year at overall losses of around $50 billion above insured losses of just $5.5 billion.
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