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Top 20 Costliest World Insurance Losses, 2017 (1)
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(US$ millions)

Rank Date Country/region Event Insured loss
in U.S. dollars
1 Sep. 19 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Maria $32,000
2 Sep. 6 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Irma 30,000
3 Aug. 25 U.S. Hurricane Harvey (Category 4), severe inland flood in Houston 30,000
4 Oct. 8 U.S. Wildland fire “Tubbs Fire“ 7,710
5 Oct. 8 U.S. Wildland fire “Atlas Fire“ 2,666
6 May 8 U.S. Hailstorm, thunderstorms, tornadoes, severe hail damage in Denver, CO 2,507
7 Mar. 26 U.S. Hailstorm, thunderstorms, tornadoes 1,967
8 Dec. 4 U.S. Wildland fire “Thomas Fire“ 1,787
9 Mar. 6 U.S. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail 1,600
10 Jun. 11 U.S. Hailstorm in Minnesota 1,549
11 Feb. 28 U.S. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, large hail 1,370
12 Mar. 28 Australia Cyclone Debbie, storm surge 1,306
13 Sep. 19 Mexico Earthquake Mw 7.1 1,200
14 Jun. 27 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes 1,131
15 Aug. 23 China, Vietnam, Hong Kong Typhoon Hato 1,107
16 Apr. 19 Europe Cold spell brings frost damage 930
17 Jan. 11 United Arab Emirates Fire at a refinery (2)
18 Oct. 18 Philippines, Japan Typhoon Lan (Paolo) 888
19 Jan. 18 U.S. Major tornado outbreak, 1 EF3 tornado in Hattiesburg, MS 853
20 Mar. 14 Canada Fire at a refinery (2)

(1) Property and business interruption losses, excludes life and liability losses. Includes flood losses in the U.S. insured via the National Flood Insurance Program. Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.
(2) Data not released by Swiss Re.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2018; Property Claim Services (PCS®), a Verisk Analytics® business, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.

 

Archived Tables

THE 20 MOST COSTLY WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES, 2008 (1)
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($ millions)

Rank Date Location Event Insured loss in U.S. dollars
1 Sep. 6 U.S., Caribbean: Gulf of Mexico, Haiti et al. Hurricane Ike, winds up to 195 km/h; offshore damage; floods $20,000

 
2 Aug. 26 U.S., Caribbean: Gulf of Mexico, Haiti et al. Hurricane Gustav, winds up to 240 km/h; offshore damage; floods 4,000

 
3 May 22 U.S. Tornadoes, storms, winds up to 320 km/h; heavy rain; hail 1,325

 
4 Feb. 29 Germany, Austria, Czech Rep. et al. Winter storm Emma, winds up to 150 km/h; floods 1,321

 
5 Jan. 10 China Snow storms, freezing rain across the country 1,300

 
6 May 29 U.S. Thunderstorms, winds up to 137 km/h; hail 1,100

 
7 May 29 Germany, Belgium, U.K., France et al. Storm Hilal, thunderstorms, hail; floods, landslides 973

 
8 Feb. 5 U.S. Tornadoes, winter storms, floods 955

 
9 Apr. 9 U.S. Storms, hail, heavy rain, floods 800

 
10 Jan. 4 U.S. Winter storm, heavy rain, snow; floods, mudslides 745

 
11 Jun. 5 U.S. Storms over Midwest, hail, rain; floods 725

 
12 May 10 U.S. Tornadoes, winds up to 280 km/h; hail 585

 
13 Mar. 15 U.S. Thunderstorms, tornadoes; hail 560

 
14 Jan. 13 Australia Floods caused by heavy rain  550

 
15 Jul. 23 U.S., Mexico, Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Dolly, winds up to 160 km/h, heavy rain; floods 525

 
16 Nov. 13 U.S. Three urban forest fires, Santa Ana winds up to 130 km/h 500

 
17 Apr. 17 U.S.  Thunderstorms, hail 470

 
18 Jun. 1 U.S.  Fire at Universal Studios NA

 
19 Jan. 5 U.S. Gas explosion at steel plant NA

 
20 Jun. 3 Australia Explosion and fire at gas processing plant NA

 

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to revisions in loss estimates.

NA=Data not available.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2009; ISO, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.

 
THE FIFTEEN MOST COSTLY WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES, 2009 (1)
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($ millions)

Rank Date Location Event Insured loss in U.S. dollars
1 Jan. 24 France, Spain Winter storm Klaus, winds up to
170 km/h; heavy rain		 $3,372
2 Feb. 10 U.S. Thunderstorms, winds up to 145 km/h; hail 1,350
3 Jul. 23 Switzerland, Austria,
Poland et al.		 Hail storm Wolfgang, winds up to
130 km/h		 1,193
4 Apr. 9 U.S. Tornadoes, storms, winds up to
105 km/h; hail		 1,130
5 Feb. 7 Australia Victorian bush fires, winds up to
100 km/h		 1,079
6 Jun. 10 U.S. Thunderstorms, winds up to 128 km/h 1,050
7 Mar. 25 U.S. Thunderstorms with hail 995
8 Jul. 20 U.S. Storms, heavy rain, hail 800
9 May 26 France, Germany, Belgium Hail storm Felix, winds up to 90 km/h 760
10 Oct. 8 Japan Typhoon Melor/No. 18, winds up to
204 km/h		 615
11 May 7 U.S. Storms, thunderstorms, winds up to
145 km/h; floods		 570
12 Apr. 1 Canada Losses to crops due to drought 569
13 Jan. 26 U.S. Winter storm, snow, ice, power outages 565
14 Apr. 6 Italy Earthquake (Mw 6.3), aftershocks 502
15 Jun. 5 U.S. Storms, hail, heavy rain; floods 500

(1) Property and business interruption losses, excluding life and liability losses. Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2010; ISO's Property Claims Services (PCS) unit, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.

 
THE 20 MOST COSTLY WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES, 2010 (1)
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($ millions)

Rank Date Country Event Insured loss
in U.S. dollars
1 Feb. 27 Chile Earthquake (Mw 8.8) triggers tsunami,
over 200 aftershocks		 $8,000
2 Sep. 4 New Zealand Earthquake (Mw 7.0), over 300 aftershocks 4,453
3 Feb. 27 France, Germany,
Belgium et al.		 Winter storm Xynthia, winds up to 160 km/h 2,754
4 Oct. 4 U.S. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail, floods 2,165
5 Dec. 23 Australia Floods caused by heavy rains, tropical
cyclone Tasha		 2,050
6 May 12 U.S. Storms, winds up to 130 km/h, hail 2,000
7 Mar. 13 U.S. Storm, winds up to 120 km/h, heavy rain,
floods		 1,231
8 Mar. 22 Australia Storm, winds up to 120 km/h, hail, rain,
mudslides		 1,079
9 Mar. 6 Australia Storms, hail, rain, floods 1,070
10 Apr. 20 Gulf of Mexico,
U.S.		 Explosion on Deepwater Horizon oil rig 1,000
11 Apr. 30 U.S. Floods caused by heavy rain, storms 820
12 Jun. 15 France Floods caused by heavy rain 818
13 Jul. 20 U.S. Storms, floods, hail, tornado 785
14 May 29 China Floods, mudslides caused by heavy
monsoonal rain		 761
15 Jun. 10 U.S. Storms, winds up to 97 km/h, hail, heavy
rain, floods		 695
16 Jun. 17 U.S. Thunderstorms, heavy rains, floods 620
17 May 10 U.S. Tornadoes, hail 610
18 Feb. 9 U.S. Winter storm, winds up to 80 km/h, snow 600
19 Aug. 6 Germany, Czech
Republic et al.		 Floods caused by heavy rain 591
20 Jul. 12 Canada Hailstorm, heavy rain; damage to buildings
and cars		 More than 500

(1) Property and business interruption losses, excluding life and liability losses. Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2011; The Property Claim Services (PCS) unit of ISO, a Verisk Analytics company, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.

 
THE TWENTY MOST COSTLY WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES, 2011 (1)
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($ millions)

Rank Date Country Event Insured loss in U.S. dollars
1 Mar. 11 Japan Earthquake (Mw 9.0) triggers tsunami; aftershocks $35,000
2 Jul. 27 Thailand Flood caused by heavy monsoon rains 12,000
3 Feb. 22 New Zealand Earthquake (Mw 6.3), aftershocks 12,000
4 Apr. 22 U.S., Alabama, et al. Severe storms, tornadoes 7,300
5 May 20 U.S., Missouri, et al. Severe storms, tornadoes 7,050
6 Aug. 22 U.S., et al. Hurricane Irene, torrential rainfall, extensive flooding 5,300
7 Jan. 9 Australia Floods caused by heavy rains 2,255
8 Jun. 13 New Zealand Earthquakes (Mw 5.2 and Mw 6.0) 2,000
9 Apr. 3 U.S. Thunderstorms with winds up to 210 km/h, hail, tornadoes 2,000
10 Apr. 8 U.S. Thunderstorms with winds up to 275 km/h, tornadoes, hail 1,510
11 Apr. 14 U.S. Storms with winds up to 260 km/h, more than 240 tornadoes 1,400
12 Feb. 2 Australia Tropical Cyclone Yasi, winds up to 240 km/h 1,364
13 Jun. 16 U.S. Storms with winds up to 113 km/h, floods, hail, tornadoes 1,300
14 Sep. 20 Japan Typhoon Roke 1,213
15 Jan. 31 U.S. Groundhog Day Blizzard winter storm, heavy snowfall 1,018
16 Jan. 1 Canada Fire at oil sand plant NA
17 Feb. 4 North Sea, U. K. FPSO Gryphon Alpha vessel damaged during storm NA
18 Jul. 10 U.S. Storms with winds up to 130 km/h, floods, tornadoes, hail 980
19 Aug. 18 U.S. Storms with winds up to 148 km/h, tornadoes, hails, floods 950
20 Apr.  19 U.S. Thunderstorms, hail, more than 100 tornadoes 830

(1) Property and business interruption losses, excluding life and liability losses. Includes flood losses in the United States insured via the National Flood Insurance program. Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2012; The Property Claim Services (PCS) unit of ISO, a Verisk Analytics company, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.

 
THE TWENTY MOST COSTLY WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES, 2012 (1)
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($ millions)

Rank Date Country Event Insured loss in U.S. dollars
1 Oct. 24 U.S., et al. Hurricane Sandy   $35,000 (2)
2 Jul. 15 U.S.  Drought in the Corn Belt   11,000 (3)
3 Mar. 2 U.S. Severe storms, tornadoes   2,500
4 Apr. 28 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes   2,500
5 Jun. 28 U.S. Derecho storm with winds up to 146 km/h, tornadoes, hail   2,000
6 May 25 U.S. Thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes   1,700
7 May  Italy Earthquakes (Mw 5.9 and Mw 5.8), aftershocks   1,622
8 Aug. 26 U.S., et al. Hurricane Isaac   1,600 (4)
9 Jun. 6 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes   1,000
10 Jun. 11 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes   950
11 Apr. 13 U.S. Thunderstorms, more than 100 tornadoes, hail, flooding (Wichita)   910
12 Apr. 3 Japan   Storms with winds up to 150 km/h   841
13 Jun.  U.K. Floods caused by heavy rains (two events)   813
14 Nov. 23 U.K. Floods caused by heavy rains   813
15 Apr. 28 U.S. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail, heavy rains   775
16 Aug. 12 Canada Hailstorm 532
17 Jan. 13 Italy Cruise liner Costa Concordia capsizes after hitting rocks 515
18 Jun. 24 U.S. Waldo Canyon Fire; 346 houses destroyed 450
19 Jan. 4 Germany, et al. Windstorm Andrea 443
20 Mar. 31 Germany Explosion at chemical plant (5)

(1) Property and business interruption losses, excludes life and liability losses. Includes flood losses in the U.S. insured via the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.
(2) Includes $20 to $25 billion of private insurance industry loss and flood claims covered by the NFIP.
(3) Includes losses from federal multiple peril crop insurance.
(4) Includes flood claims covered by the NFIP.
(5) Data not publicly available.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2013; The Property Claim Services (PCS) unit of ISO, a Verisk Analytics company, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.

 
THE TWENTY MOST COSTLY WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES, 2013 (1)
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($ millions)

Rank Date Country Event Insured loss in U.S. dollars
1 May 27 Germany, et al. Floods $4,134
2 Jul. 27 Germany, France Hailstorms 3,838
3 Jun. 19 Canada Floods 1,882
4 May 18 U.S. Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes (EF5 tornado in Moore, OK) 1,776
5 Mar. 18 U.S. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail 1,615
6 Nov. 8 Phillipines, et al. Typhoon Haiyan, storm surge 1,486
7 Oct. 27 Germany, et al. Windstorm Christian (St. Jude) 1,471
8 May 28 U.S. Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, large hail 1,425
9 Apr. 7 U.S. Winter storm, ice, tornadoes, heavy rains 1,204
10 Sep. 29 China, Japan Typhoon Fitow 1,133
11 Apr. 2 Argentina Large fire at refinery NA
12 Dec. 5 U.K., et al. Windstorm Xaver 1,034
13 Jan. 21 Australia Floods caused by cyclone Oswald 983
14 Sep. 13 Mexico Hurricane Manuel 947
15 Nov. 17 U.S. Thunderstorms, tornadoes (2 EF4) with winds up to 305 km/h 931
16 Apr. 10 U.S. Collapse of pit wall at copper mine due to landslide NA
17 Sep. 4 China Fire at major high-tech semiconductor plant NA
18 Jul. 8 Canada Severe storms, flooding 888
19 Jun. 20 Germany Hailstorms 827
20 Aug. 6 U.S. Thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes 805

(1) Property and business interruption losses, excluding life and liability losses. Includes flood losses in the U.S. insured via the National Flood Insurance Program. Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

NA=Data not available.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2014; The Property Claim Services® (PCS®) unit of ISO®, a Verisk Analytics® company, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.

 
TOP 20 MOST COSTLY WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES, 2014 (1)
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($ millions)

Rank Date Country Event Insured loss
in U.S. dollars
1 May 18 U.S. Severe thunderstorms, large hail $2,935
2 Feb. 8 Japan Snowstorm 2,502
3 Jun. 8 France, Germany, Belgium Wind and hailstorm Ela 2,190
4 Sep. 14 Mexico Hurricane Odile 1,700
5 Jan. 5 U.S. Winter storm 1,669
6 Jun. 3 U.S. Severe thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes 1,269
7 Apr. 27 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, 83 tornadoes,
severe flash floods		 1,220
8 Apr. 2 U.S. Severe storms, large hail, tornadoes 1,084
9 Jun. 15 Russia Major fire and explosion at oil refinery NA
10 Sep. 27 U.S. Thunderstorms with winds up to 67 miles per hour,
hail, flash floods		 905
11 Nov. 30  Australia Hailstorm 852
12 Apr. 12 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes 678
13 Jul. 7 U.S. Fire at petrochemical plant NA
14 May 10 U.S. Thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, flash floods 635
15 Oct. 12 India Cyclone Hudhud 632
16 Mar. 27 U.S. Thunderstorms, winds up to 80 miles per hour,
large hail, tornadoes		 592
17 Jun. 14 U.S. Thunderstorms, more than 100 tornadoes, hail 545
18 Aug. 11 U.S. Torrential rains trigger severe floods 539
19 Jul. 13 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Fighting at airport destroys aircraft NA
20 Jan. 1 U.K. Floods 530

(1) Property and business interruption losses, excluding life and liability losses. Includes flood losses in the U.S. insured via the National Flood Insurance Program. Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

NA=Data not provided.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2015; Property Claim Services (PCS®), a Verisk Analytics® business, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.

 
Top 20 Costliest Insurance Losses, 2015 (1)
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(US$ millions)

Rank Date Country Event Insured loss
in U.S. dollars
1 Aug. 12 China Port of Tianjin - explosions at a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals $2,500 to $3,500
2 Feb. 16 U.S. Severe winter storm, strong winds, heavy snowfall and ice accumulations 2,081
3 May 23 U.S. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail, severe flooding in Texas and Oklahoma 1,461
4 Apr. 7 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes, flash floods 1,204
5 Aug. 18 Japan, Philippines, North Korea Typhoon Goni 1,150
6 Dec. 22 U.K., Ireland Floods (Storms Eva and Frank) 1,032
7 Mar. 30 Germany, Netherlands, et al. Winter Storm Niklas (2) 1,009
8 Apr. 18 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes, flash floods 939
9 Sep. 12 U.S. Wildland fire “Valley Fire” 921
10 Jun. 21 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes, flash floods 914
11 Dec. 4 U.K., Norway Cumbria floods (Storm Desmond) 884
12 May 6 U.S. Tornado outbreak (122 tornadoes), hail, strong winds, flash floods 850
13 Apr. 1 Mexico Fire and explosion on a drilling platform NA
14 Nov. 28 India Severe flash floods in Chennai 755
15 Apr. 20 Australia Storm (East Coast Low), flash floods, storm surge, hail 691
16 Apr. 24 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes, flash floods 687
17 Aug. 2 U.S. Thunderstorms, large hail, flash floods, tornadoes 659
18 Oct. 3 France Torrential rains bring flash floods 652
19 Dec. 26 U.S. Thunderstorms, tornadoes (EF4 and EF3), blizzards, flash floods 636
20 Aug. 13 Czech Republic Gas leak at a petrochemicals plant causes an explosion and ensuing fire NA

(1) Property and business interruption losses, excludes life and liability losses. Includes flood losses in the U.S. insured via the National Flood Insurance Program. Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.
(2) Loss numbers for Storm Niklas are Swiss Re estimates based on data from Perils AG.

NA=Data not available.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2016; Property Claim Services (PCS®), a Verisk Analytics® business, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.

 
Top 20 Costliest Insurance Losses, 2016 (1)
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(US$ millions)

Rank Date Country Event Insured loss in U.S. dollars
1 Apr. 14 Japan    Earthquakes   $4,887
2 Oct. 6 U.S. and the Caribbean    Hurricane Matthew   4,000
3 Aug. 11 U.S.  Severe storms and flooding, LA  3,102
4 Apr. 10 U.S.  Severe hailstorm in San Antonio, TX   2,995
5 May 27 Germany, France    Storms/floods (low-pressure systems Elvira and Friederike)   2,886
6 May 2 Canada    Fort McMurray wildfires   2,782
7 Nov. 14 New Zealand    Earthquake Mw 7.8   1,700-2,400
8 Mar. 23 U.S.  North Texas hailstorm, thunderstorms   1,689
9 Feb. 28 Ghana    Turret failure at a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel   (2)
10 Apr. 29 U.S.  Thunderstorms, large hail, tornadoes, flash floods   1,187
11 Jul. 28 U.S.  Thunderstorms, severe hail damage in CO, hailstorm in WY  1,135
12 Apr. 16 U.S.  Flash flood, river flood in Houston region from torrential rains, TX 1,037
13 Mar. 17 U.S.  Thunderstorms, large hail in Forth Worth and Arlington, TX   920
14 Nov. 28 U.S.  Chimney Tops 2 Fire spreads to forest areas in dry conditions, TN 919
15 May 21 U.S.  Thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail   874
16 May 7 U.S.  Thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes   764
17 May 11 U.S.  Thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes   666
18 Apr. 25 U.S.  Thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes   639
19 Feb. 22 U.S., Canada    Thunderstorms, 50 tornadoes, hail   637
20 Mar. 31 France    Steam generator falls and causes damage to nuclear power plant   (2)

(1) Property and business interruption losses, excludes life and liability losses. Includes flood losses in the U.S. insured via the National Flood Insurance Program. Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

(2) Data not released by Swiss Re.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2017; Property Claim Services (PCS®), a Verisk Analytics® business, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States.