Matt Sheehan, Reinsurance News, vom 12. Juli 2021
Re/insurance broker Aon has estimated that total insured losses from the prolonged stretch of severe weather that impacted Europe between June 17th and 25th could exceed $3.4bn, with overall losses reaching even higher.
And looking at the larger period of storm outbreaks up to June 30th, insured losses could reach $4.5 billion, comfortably surpassing Europe’s previous most costly weather period of $4.3 billion following storm Andreas in 2013.
Notably, Aon’s estimates are somewhat higher than the insured loss estimate of €2.5 billion+ ($3.0 billion+) that we received from actuaries Meyerthole Siems Kohlruss (MSK) earlier this month, which weighed losses for the most severe ten-day period.
Weather conditions included thunderstorms, hail and even a tornado that hit the Czech Republic on July 24th.
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany were among the other countries to experience widespread damage from the storms.
According to Aon, large hail was the predominant driver of damage in central Switzerland and Austria, while many parts of Germany experienced flooding.
Meanwhile, a prolonged period of historic heat gripped the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Canada in late June, resulting in more than 630 fatalities, with the total likely to rise.
Numerous daily, monthly, and all-time maximum temperature records were set – including many records that were broken in consecutive days, with the state of Washington in the US equalling the statewide heat record with a reading of 118°F (47.8°C).
“While the United States generates most headlines given the frequency and aggregated high financial costs associated with severe thunderstorm outbreaks, other parts of the world are also prone to such events,” said Michal Lörinc, senior catastrophe analyst for Aon’s Impact Forecasting team.
“The extended stretch of severe weather in the second half of June across Western and Central Europe featured very large hail, flash floods, and one of the most intense tornadoes recorded in the recent European record. Multi-billion-dollar insured thunderstorm outbreaks are not regularly common in Europe, but they can and do happen.”
Elsewhere in June, a powerful storm system prompted periods of torrential rains, flash flooding, hurricane-force winds, and wintry weather across parts of eastern and southern Australia, following which at least 20,000 claims have been filed with payouts listed at AU $182 million (US $137 million), and total economic losses even higher.
Torrential rainfall and severe thunderstorms led to significant flash flooding across parts of the mid-Mississippi River Valley and the southern Plains in the United States in early June, with total economic costs pegged at $950 million, and agricultural damage in Mississippi and Arkansas due to flooding alone expected to exceed $800 million.
Also, roughly 2,000 structures were damaged in India after heavy rainfall and thunderstorms affected several states, and returning to the US, Tropical Storm Claudette brought heavy rains, high winds, and severe thunderstorms to many regions in the south.