Total insured losses from natural hazards in 2022 were estimated at $140 billion, of which $125 billion was covered by private insurers and $15 billion by public insurance entities such as the US National Flood Insurance Program, according to a report Monday from Gallagher Re.
Gallagher Re, the reinsurance business of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., noted that 2022 is the fifth year since 2017 to top $100 billion in such losses. The projected total economic cost of natural hazards in 2022 was estimated at $360 billion.
The reinsurance broker said the increase in severity and, in some cases, frequency of events including wildfire and severe convective storms — called secondary perils — “presents reinsurers with a multifaceted and complex challenge when it comes to risk protection and mitigation.”
;Primary perils, such as hurricanes, accounted for $68 billion in insured losses, 48% of the total, and $149 billion in economic losses, 41% of the total. Hurricane Ian in the United States was by far the costliest event of the year with $55 billion in insured losses and $115 billion in economic loss, report data showed.
Secondary perils, including droughts, windstorms and floods worldwide, caused $73 billion in insured losses, 52%, and $211 billion in economic losses, 59%.
The US accounted for 74% of insured losses and 53% of global economic losses. “The country has the most robust insurance market in the world, and it is typically the dominant annual cause of insured losses given its regular frequency of high-dollar catastrophe events,” the Gallagher Re report said.
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