Damage from natural disasters decreased slightly in the first half of 2023 globally. According to Swiss Re’s estimates, they would amount to 120 billion dollars (109 billion in euros) with, however, a high proportion due to American tornadoes and thunderstorms. However, it was the Turkish and Syrian earthquakes that proved to be the most costly according to the press release from the Swiss reinsurer, published on Wednesday August 9.
According to a preliminary estimate by the World Bank, the economic losses caused by this earthquake are estimated at 34 billion dollars, the costs for insurance companies being estimated at 5.3 billion dollars, according to calculations by Swiss Re. But so-called secondary catastrophes, as opposed to major catastrophes like earthquakes or tropical cyclones, again drove up insurers’ costs.
The amount of damage had been a little higher in the first half of 2022, at 123 billion dollars following costly floods in Australia and South Africa. Yet costs for insurers soared further, to $50 billion in the first half of 2023 from $48 billion a year earlier, again highlighting the “growing impact” of these secondary disasters, the group notes. who acts as insurer for insurers.
“The effects of climate change can already be seen in certain perils such as heat waves, drought, floods and extreme rainfall,” said Jérôme Jean Haegeli, chief economist of Swiss Re, quoted in the press release. Added to this are the risks associated with the expansion of urban areas, particularly in coastal areas or near rivers, which are more exposed to environmental risks.
“It is high time to invest in more climate adaptation,” says the chief economist of Swiss Re, as the group regularly warns of the increasing frequency and intensity of these secondary disasters. In the classification of insurance companies, these secondary disasters include hailstorms and floods. In the first half, it was the storms in the United States in particular that pushed up their costs.
Insured losses for thunderstorms and associated weather events (such as hail, heavy precipitation, wind and sudden temperature changes) amounted to $35 billion, including $34 billion in the United States alone, which represents “nearly 70%” of the damage covered by insurers during the first half of the year, quantifies Swiss Re. Ten storms caused damage of more than 1 billion dollars, Texas being the most affected state, specifies the Swiss group.
Natural disasters during the semester also included two back-to-back storms in New Zealand, including flooding in Auckland. Insured losses are valued at $2.3 billion. Italy’s torrential rains in the Emilia-Romagna region also cost insurers $600m, with Swiss Re highlighting the need to boost risk coverage in Italy as economic losses are estimated at $10bn .
Since the beginning of July, a heat wave has been raging in the United States, in northwestern China and in southern Europe, resulting in fires in the Greek islands and in Italy but also in Algeria, notes Swiss. D.
But it is still too early to provide estimates, he said.
