Natural perils in 2012 cause $72 billion in insured losses

In its recently released annual global climate and catastrophe report, Aon Benfield noted that the costliest catastrophe worldwide in 2012 was Hurricane Sandy, while a hailstorm July 12 in Calgary led to claims exceeding $500 million.

Impact Forecasting, the Aon Benfield unit that develops software and catastrophe models, published the Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe report. It noted there were 295 natural peril events worldwide in 2012, with insured losses of US$72 billion and total economic losses of US$200 billion. The 10-year average for annual insured and economic losses were US$52-billion and US$187 billion respectively, Impact Forecasting reported.

“Hurricane Sandy was the costliest single event of the year causing an estimated US$28.2 billion insured loss for Sandy, combining private insurers and government-sponsored programs, and approximately US$65 billion in economic losses across the United States, the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Canada,” the report noted. “These losses remain subject to change.”

Worldwide, about two-thirds of insurance losses were from Hurricane Sandy and the drought in the U.S. alone. Of the other eight events that made the list of the top 10 global insured loss events, only one was outside the U.S. Aon Benfield counted two earthquakes in May in Italy as one catastrophe. Economic and insured losses from these were US$15.8 billion and US$1.3 billion respectively.

The Aon Benfield report pegged the insured and economic losses of the year-long drought and heat wave last year in the U.S. at US$20 billion and US$35 billion respectively.

In Calgary, a hailstorm July 12th damaged homes, businesses, trees, vehicles and power lines. “The hardest-hit area of Calgary came in the metro region’s northeast as the Insurance Bureau of Canada reported that claims payouts were in excess of $552 million,” Aon Benfield noted. “Total economic losses were even higher.”

Other events of Canada highlighted in the report included flooding in central and eastern Canada May 25 through 29, which damaged 1,100 homes in Thunder Bay, Ont. and infrastructure in Montreal. Quoting IBC numbers, Aon Benfield noted claims were at least $260 million.