During the H1 2016, preliminary global economic losses were at their highest levels since 2011, but slightly below the 10-year average, according to a global catastrophe recap by Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting.
The report, Global Catastrophe Recap: First Half of 2016, revealed that preliminary global economic losses reached $98 billion and global insured losses $30 billion.
It found that the level of global economic losses covered by public and private insurers was 30 percent, slightly above the 10-year average of 28 percent, due to the prevalence in the US where insurance penetration is higher.
The US accounted for 47 percent of global insurance losses sustained by public and private insurance entities during the first half of the year.
The report revealed that earthquakes were the costliest disaster during the six-month period, standing at $34 billion and comprising 30 percent of the loss total.
Storms were the costliest peril at $12.3 billion, comprising 42 percent of the loss total, according to the report.
The report highlighted that there were at least six individual billion-dollar global insured events during the first half of the year, and at least 22 separate billion-dollar economic loss events.
Steve Bowen, director within Aon Benfield’s impact forecasting team, said: “The first half of 2016 ended up as the costliest on an economic and insured loss basis since 2011. The year has already been highlighted by a significant earthquake sequence in Japan, the Fort McMurray wildfire in Canada, flooding in Western Europe and a series of extensive hailstorms in the US.”
He added: “With the pending transition to La Niña during the second half of the year, there will be a heightened focus on the risk of flooding across parts of Asia and hurricane landfall in the Atlantic Ocean basin. The financial toll of weather disasters during La Niña years has historically been among the costliest on record, and so we will wait to see whether this trend plays out in the coming months.”
