(Zurich) The amount of damage caused by natural disasters worldwide fell slightly in the first half, to 120 billion dollars according to an estimate by Swiss Re, but the storms in the United States inflated the bill for insurers.
The costliest disaster was the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the Swiss reinsurer said in a statement on Wednesday.
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, have once again driven insurers’ costs up.
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 said. 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, quantifies Swiss Re.
Ten storms caused damage of more than 1 billion dollars, Texas being the most affected state, specifies the Swiss group.
Among the natural disasters during the semester are also two storms that followed one another in New Zealand, causing flooding in Auckland in particular. 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 Re.
But it is still too early to provide estimates, he said.
