Insurance Sector Losses in 2023 Driven by Destructive Thunderstorms, Munich Re Says

By Pierre Bertrand

Natural disasters caused around $250 billion in damages in 2023, amounting to $95 billion in insurance losses, according to Munich Re's latest assessment of the sector's losses caused by natural catastrophes.

The German insurer's report said that overall losses in the last year were in line with the previous year's tally, while insured losses declined compared with $125 billion previously.

Overall losses fell within the five-year average but insured losses came in slightly under their $105 billion five-year average and slightly above the $90 billion ten-year average, according to Munich Re.

Munich Re said that the losses were driven by a large number of regional storms which caused damages on both sides of the Atlantic and were more destructive in North America and Europe than ever before.

Thunderstorms destroyed assets worth around $66 billion in North America and $10 billion in Europe, the report said, adding that combined insured losses came to $58 billion.

The insurer added that losses from such storms in North America and other regions are trending upward and that 2023 was the hottest year on record.

The single costliest events of 2023 were the series of earthquakes which struck the southeast of Turkey and Syria in February, Typhoon Doksuri which struck China in July and Hurricane Otis which hit Mexico in October.

Write to Pierre Bertrand at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 09, 2024 02:44 ET (07:44 GMT)

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