AS IF WE NEEDED ANY MORE PROOF THAT 2022 HAS BEEN A HECK OF A YEAR, A NEW REPORT SHOWS THAT WITH A MONTH TO GO 2022 IS ALREADY ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE YEARS ON RECORD FOR THE WORLD’S INSURANCE INDUSTRY.
ACCORDING TO SWISS RE, ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST INSURANCE COMPANIES, NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS CAUSED ROUGHLY $268 BILLION IN DAMAGE THIS YEAR. LESS THAN HALF OF THAT, $122 BILLION, WAS COVERED BY INSURANCE. SWISS RE SAYS THE 10-YEAR AVERAGE FOR DAMAGED CAUSED BY NATURAL DISASTER IS $81 BILLION PER YEAR.
HURRICANE IAN IN FLORIDA WAS THE MOST EXPENSIVE DISASTER IN 2022 SO FAR. WHEN IAN HIT THE SUNSHINE STATE IN SEPTEMBER, IT CAUSED BETWEEN $50-65 BILLION IN INSURED LOSSES.
TORRENTIAL RAINS IN THE SPRING CAUSED WIDESPREAD FLOODING IN AUSTRALIA. THE ESTIMATED $4 BILLION IN DAMAGE MAKES THE FLOODING THE MOST EXPENSIVE NATURAL DISASTER EVER IN AUSTRALIA.
THE MOST SEVERE SERIES OF HAILSTORMS EVER OBSERVED IN FRANCE CAUSED MORE THAN $5 BILLION IN INSURED LOSSES.
IN TOTAL, SECONDARY PERILS LIKE FLOODS AND HAILSTORMS CAUSED MORE THAN $50 BILLION IN LOSSES THIS YEAR. 2022 IS THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW THAT INSURED LOSSES TOTALED MORE THAN $100 BILLION.
SWISS RE ESTIMATES MORE THAN 11,000 PEOPLE DIED IN NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS SO FAR THIS YEAR. THAT TOTAL DOES NOT INCLUDE THE DEATH TOLL FROM THE SEVERE HEAT WAVE THAT STRUCK EUROPE EARLIER THIS YEAR.