According to Swiss Re Ltd., one of the largest reinsurers in the world, global insurance industry losses due to man-made disasters and natural catastrophes plummeted by 44% in 2013. In 2012, global insured losses reached $81 billion, but these losses fell to $45 billion in 2013. Of this $45 billion, $37 billion was a result of natural catastrophes. This decrease in claims was due in large part to a moderate U.S. hurricane season.
Insurers covered a little less than a third of the $140 billion in overall economic losses incurred in 2013. The main culprits for the losses were flooding, hail and tornadoes. Europe had $4.1 billion in flood losses, and Canada had to deal with $1.9 billion in flood losses. France and Germany were hit by hailstorms that caused $3.8 billion in insured damages. Incidentally, this was the greatest dollar amount on record for hail-related events. The U.S. had the largest insured loss total because of multiple tornado outbreaks and the storms that came along with them.
Swiss Re’s study pointed out that the difference between total losses and insured losses (the protection gap) has widened over the last 40 years. This trend is likely to continue as disaster events combine with ongoing development, population growth and urbanization to increase total losses.
For more details, click here: Insurance Claims Drop to $45 Billion
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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti