2014 Half-Year Natural Catastrophe Review

The statistics for natural catastrophes worldwide for the first half of 2014 have been marked by pleasingly low levels of global claims. Overall economic losses of $42 billion and insured losses of $17 billion to the end of June were considerably below the average for the past 10 years ($95 billion and $25 billion respectively). The number of deaths caused by natural catastrophes was also comparatively low. However, toward the end of the year the natural climate phenomenon El Niño may impact regions differently in terms of the number and intensity of weather extremes. During the first half of the year, 2,700 people died as a result of natural catastrophes, which was much lower than is normal during the first six months of a year (10-year average: 53,000). There were around 490 loss-relevant natural catastrophes. The highest economic losses arose in the U.S. (35 percent), followed by Europe and Asia (30 percent each). The webinar includes the analyses of Carl Hedde, head of Risk Accumulation at Munich Re America, Peter Höppe, head of the Geo Risks Research unit at Munich Re and Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute.