CHICAGO, Jan. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Impact
Forecasting, Aon Benfield's catastrophe model development team,
today launches its Weather, Climate & Catastrophe Insight: 2017
Annual Report, which evaluates the impact of the natural disaster
events that occurred worldwide during 2017 to promote awareness and
enhance resilience. Aon Benfield is the global reinsurance
intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc (NYSE:AON).
The report reveals that there were 330 natural catastrophe
events in 2017 that generated economic losses of USD353 billion – of which 97 percent
(USD344 billion) was due to
weather-related events, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria
in the US and Caribbean, plus
Typhoon Hato in China and Cyclone
Debbie in Australia. For
historical context, 2017's natural catastrophe losses were 93
percent higher versus the 2000-2016 average.
Insured losses to the private sector and government-sponsored
programs were among the costliest ever incurred, reaching
USD134 billion in 2017 – just behind
the record USD137 billion in 2011.
This is 139 percent higher than last year's USD56 billion, primarily due to high insurance
penetration in the US that suffered a very active Atlantic
hurricane season, severe weather events (convective storms) and
wildfires.
Eric Andersen, CEO of Aon
Benfield, commented: "While 2017 was an expensive year for the
insurance industry, the reinsurance market had an estimated
USD600 billion in available capital
to withstand the high volume of payouts. Most critically, the US
weather and wildfire events in particular have demonstrated the
value of reinsurance, with claims being paid in an average of eight
days to augment the recovery process."
Additional key findings include:
- 36 percent (USD80 billion) of
economic damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria was
insured
- 31 billion-dollar events occurred
globally, with 16 alone in the US
- Wildfires caused USD14 billion of
insurance losses in 2017 – the highest on record for the peril
- 10,000 human fatalities were caused by natural disasters, with
the deadliest event being a massive landslide event in Sierra Leone when more than 1,100 people lost
their lives
- 2017 was the third warmest year on record since 1880 for
combined land and ocean temperatures.
Steve Bowen, Impact Forecasting
director and meteorologist, said: "The high cost of disasters in
2017 served as a reminder that we continue to face increasing
levels of risk as more people and exposures are located in areas
that are particularly vulnerable to major, naturally occurring
events. As weather scenarios grow more volatile in their size and
potential impact, it becomes more imperative than ever to identify
ways to increase awareness, improve communication, and lower the
insurance protection gap. We know natural disasters are going to
occur. The question is how prepared are we going to be when the
next one strikes."
Other significant events during the year included:
- An October wildfire outbreak, the most destructive ever
recorded in the US state of California, caused nearly USD13 billion in economic damage
- Substantial summer flooding causing more than USD12 billion in damage across China
- Southern Europe endured an
extended drought during the summer and autumn months that caused
USD6.6 billion in damage across parts
of Spain, Italy and Portugal
- Elsewhere in Europe, the
costliest thunderstorm event of the year affected central sections
of the continent, particularly Poland, and left a damage bill of nearly
USD800 million
- In Mexico, two powerful
earthquakes in September led to nearly USD6.0 billion in combined economic losses,
including major damage across Mexico
City on the 32nd anniversary of its historic 1985
tremor.
Read the full Weather, Climate & Catastrophe Insight: 2017
Annual Report: http://aon.io/ab-if-annual-report-2017
Watch meteorologist and author Steve
Bowen's short film on the key findings of the report:
http://aon.io/2DASXK2
Access current and historical natural catastrophe data, plus
event analysis, on Impact Forecasting's Catastrophe Insight
website
Notes to editors
Top 10 Global Economic Loss Events
Date(s)
|
Event
|
Location
|
Deaths
|
Economic Loss
(USD)
|
Insured Loss
(USD)
|
Aug.25 –
Sept.2
|
Hurricane
Harvey
|
United
States
|
90
|
~100
billion
|
~30
billion
|
September
18-22
|
Hurricane
Maria
|
Caribbean
Islands
|
651
|
~65
billion
|
~27
billion
|
September
4-12
|
Hurricane
Irma
|
U.S., Caribbean
Islands
|
134
|
~55
billion
|
~23
billion
|
October
|
Wildfires
|
United
States
|
43
|
13 billion
|
11 billion
|
Summer
|
Flooding
|
China
|
116
|
7.5
billion
|
300
million
|
Summer &
Autumn
|
Drought
|
Southern
Europe
|
N/A
|
6.6
billion
|
700
million
|
September
19
|
Earthquake
|
Mexico
|
370
|
4.5
billion
|
1 billion
|
July
|
Flooding
|
China
|
37
|
4.5
billion
|
125
million
|
August
23-25
|
Typhoon
Hato
|
China
|
22
|
3.5
billion
|
250
million
|
May 8-11
|
Severe
Weather
|
United
States
|
0
|
3.4
billion
|
2.6
billion
|
|
All Other
Events
|
87 billion
|
38 billion
|
|
Totals
|
334
billion1
|
134
billion1,2
|
|
1 Subject to
change as loss estimates are further developed
|
|
2 Includes losses
sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored
programs
|
Further information
For further information please contact the Aon Benfield team:
Alexandra Lewis (+44 207 086 0541),
Andrew Wragg or David Bogg
Follow Aon on
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aon_plc
For information on Aon plc. and to sign-up for news
alerts: http://aon.mediaroom.com
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