Insured natural cat losses in 2021 pegged at $116 billion
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Insured losses from major natural catastrophes last year totaled an estimated $116 billion — the third-highest tally since 2011, according to a report released Thursday by Gallagher Re, the reinsurance unit of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Inc.
Only the $143 million in losses in 2017 and the $120 million in 2011 top last year’s total, which is 61% higher than the $71 million average for annual catastrophe losses since 2011, Gallagher Re said.
Tropical cyclones accounted for 35% of the overall 2021 losses, followed by severe thunderstorms at 25%. North America had 68% of total losses, followed by Europe, the Middle East and Africa at 23%.
The figures do not include COVID-19 or man-made insured losses.
The largest insured losses in the U.S from a single event came from Hurricane Ida in August, which caused approximately $37 billion in property insured losses. Ida was the fifth-costliest hurricane on record and its impacts included flash floods in New York City, which sustained rainfall at the rate of three inches per hour.
The North Atlantic hurricane season was the third most active on record, with 21 named storms, and was the sixth consecutive above-normal year, Gallagher Re said.
Unusually cold weather and a series of winter storms during the first half of February hit the mid and southern U.S. From Feb. 12-20, freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall were reported in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana and Mississippi, with overall insured losses estimated at near $15 billion.
In Europe, the largest loss event was Storm Bernd in mid-July, which caused more than $13 billion in insured losses, mainly in Germany and Belgium, including the largest German flood loss on record.
“Claims originating from secondary perils were substantial … a phenomenon that underwriters are paying close attention to,” James Vickers, chairman international, reinsurance, at Gallagher Re, said in a statement with the report.
