Q1 natural hazard losses pegged at $32 billion: Aon
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Estimated economic losses from natural hazards totaled $32 billion during the first quarter, of which $14 billion was insured, according to a report Thursday from Aon PLC.
The Asia Pacific region accounted for the largest portion of first-quarter economic losses, with more than $15 billion, followed by Europe with $7 billion and the United States at $6 billion.
This year marked the sixth consecutive with more than $10 billion in insured first-quarter losses, Aon said.
Aon noted that “these totals are expected to be upwardly revised in the coming weeks and months due to loss development expected in the aftermath of larger scale events.”
The quarter included some multibillion-dollar losses, according to the Aon report.
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred on March 16 just offshore of Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture — along with several strong aftershocks and a notable foreshock — and shook many prefectures throughout Japan. Preliminary estimates suggested an economic loss well into the billions, and insurers were anticipating losses approaching or exceeding $2.0 billion.
European low-pressure systems Feb. 16-21 led to the development of a sequence of windstorms that various publicly available estimates suggest might result in significant industry payouts, with aggregated totals approaching €4.0 billion ($4.3 billion).
