Swiss Re (OTC: SSREY) said on Thursday that Hurricane Ian and other natural disasters have caused an estimated $115 billion in insured losses so far this year. This is a lot more than the 10-year average of $81 billion and a lot more than any other year in the last decade.
It said that natural and man-made disasters caused $268 billion in economic damage, of which $122 billion was covered by insurance. This made 2022 one of the most expensive years ever for the sector.
Related: Even though the market is down, Swiss bank Julius Baer is on track to meet its goals.
In September, a category-4 hurricane named Ian hit Florida. It was the single event that caused the most damage so far this year, with insured losses of between $50 and $65 billion. Only Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was worse than that.
Swiss Re said that 2022 was the second year in a row when insured losses were expected to be more than $100 billion. This is in line with the average annual increase of 5–7% over the past ten years.
It said that secondary risks like floods and hail storms caused insured losses of more than $50 billion.
Heavy rains in February and March caused flooding all over Australia. The flooding caused about $4 billion in damage, making it the most expensive natural disaster in Australia’s history.
France was hit by the worst series of hailstorms ever seen. Damages were insured for about $5.2 billion, which is about 5 billion euros.
Swiss Re says that so far this year, natural and man-made disasters have killed more than 11,000 people. This number does not include the deaths caused by severe heat waves in Europe.
In January, Munich Re will put out its annual report on major disasters.
Related: The first nine months of 2022 had a $142.6 billion loss for the Swiss National Bank.
($1 = 0.9626 euros)
