Natural disasters, many caused by climate change, caused global economic losses of $313 billion in 2022, insurance broker Aon estimated Wednesday, of which less than half were insured.
Losses from natural catastrophes covered by the insurance industry amounted to $132 billion, 57% above the 21st century average, it added, leaving a global “protection gap” of 58%.
However, while the number of catastrophic events such as floods and hurricanes increased — at least 421 individual events compared with an average of 396 since 2000 — Aon said the protection gap was one of the lowest on record.
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“It was relatively low due to the fact that many of the costliest disasters occurred in countries with mature insurance markets like the US or Europe, while losses in less covered regions like Asia were well below average,” he said. Michal Lörinc, head of catastrophe vision at Aon, told Reuters.
According to the report, 75% of global insured losses occurred in the United States with Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida in September 2022, causing insured damage in the range of $50-$55 billion with total economic losses of $95 billion. .
Chaja fly in the Navarro lagoon, which dried up due to the La Niña climate phenomenon, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 5, 2022.
(REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File photo)
Hurricane Ian is the second costliest natural disaster the insurance industry has faced.
Aon estimated that some 31,300 people died due to natural catastrophes in 2022, of which around two-thirds were related to severe heat waves in Europe between June and July.
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In Australia, insured losses linked to flooding reached a record $4 billion as a weather pattern associated with wet weather called La Niña extended its impacts into 2022, triggering heavy rain and flooding across the country.
Similarly, in Pakistan, the monsoon season brought 175% above-average rainfall from July to September, Aon said, citing the local Meteorological Department.
