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Facts + Statistics: Global catastrophes
2018 natural catastrophes
Overall losses from world-wide natural catastrophes in 2018 totaled $160 billion dollars, down from $350 billion in 2017, according to Munich Re. There were 850 events that caused losses in 2018, compared with 740 events in the prior year. Insured losses from the 2018 events totaled $80 billion, down from $140 billion in 2017. Insured losses in 2018 were $19 billion or 31 percent higher than the average of the prior ten years, 2008 to 2017. Natural catastrophes in 2018 caused 10,400 deaths, compared with 13,000 in 2017 and 60,000 in the ten years ending in 2017.
Ranked by insured losses, the costliest natural catastrophe in 2018 was the Camp Fire in California that caused $12.5 billion in insured losses, according to Munich Re. Hurricane Michael in the United States and Cuba resulted in $10 billion in insured losses. Rounding out the top 5 catastrophes by insured losses were Typhoon Jebi in Japan and Taiwan with $9 billion in losses; Hurricane Florence in the United States that resulted in losses of $5.0 billion; and the Woolsey Fire in California that caused $4 billion in losses. Losses for the hurricanes and wildfires in the United States are preliminary.
World Natural Catastrophes, 2018
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
World Natural Catastrophes By Type Of Event, 2018
(Percentage distribution)
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
World Weather-Related Catastrophes By Type Of Event, 2018
(Percentage distribution)
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
World Weather-Related Natural Catastrophes By Continent, 2018
(Percentage distribution)
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
Top 5 World Costliest Natural Catastrophes By Overall Losses, 2018 (1)
(1) U.S. losses include the loss estimation based on Property Claim Services (PCS).
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
Top 5 World Costliest Natural Catastrophes By Insured Losses, 2018 (1)
(1) U.S. losses include the loss estimation based on Property Claims Services (PCS).
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
World Natural Catastrophes By Overall And Insured Losses, 1980–2018
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
Number Of World Natural Catastrophes, 1980-2018
(Number of relevant events by peril)
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
World Weather-Related Natural Catastrophes By Overall And Insured Losses, 1980-2018
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
World Weather-Related Natural Catastrophes By Peril, 1980-2018
(Number of relevant events by peril)
Source: © 2019 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of March 2019.
Natural and Man-made Disasters
Global natural catastrophes and man-made disasters resulted in $144 billion in insured losses in 2017, the highest annual insured losses since Swiss Re began keeping records. The top three events in terms of insured losses were from three hurricanes, Maria, Irma and Harvey, which accounted for a total of $92 billion, followed by two wildfires that resulted in almost $10.5 billion in insured losses. There were 301 disaster events in 2017, of which 183 were natural disasters, accounting for $136 billion in insured losses. Man-made disasters and earthquakes and tsunamis accounted for the remaining $8 billion in losses. In the previous year, in 2016, total insured losses were $56 billion, close to the inflation-adjusted previous 10-year average of $53 billion. By region, North America accounted for the majority of insured losses in 2017, with about $119 billion and almost 83 percent of world insured losses. Most of those losses resulted from hurricanes—Maria, Harvey and Irma—as well as wildfires and flooding. More than 11,000 people world-wide perished in natural and man-made disasters in 2017. In terms of human loss, flooding in Sierra Leone was the worst disaster, claiming 1,141 lives. An earthquake on the Iran-Iraq border was the second-worst, with a death toll of 630.
Global Catastrophes, 2017
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(1) Based on events classified by Swiss Re as a catastrophe. The threshold is $20.3 million in insured losses for maritime disasters, $40.7 million for aviation disasters and $50.5 million for other losses or $101.0 million in total economic losses; or at least 20 dead or missing, 50 injured or 2,000 made homeless.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, 1/2018.
Top 10 Deadliest World Catastrophes, 2017
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(1) Dead and missing.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2018.
Top 20 Costliest World Insurance Losses, 2017 (1)
(US$ millions)
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(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.
World Insured Catastrophe Losses, 2008-2017 (1)
(2017 $ millions)
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(1) In order to maintain comparability of the data over the course of time, the minimum threshold for losses was adjusted annually to compensate for inflation in the United States. Adjusted to 2017 dollars by Swiss Re.
Source: Swiss Re Institute.
Top 10 Costliest World Insurance Losses, 1970-2017 (1)
(2017 $ millions)
|
(1) Property and business interruption losses, excludes life and liability losses. Includes flood losses in the United States insured via the National Flood Insurance Program. U.S. natural catastrophe figures based on Property Claim Services data. Adjusted to 2017 dollars by Swiss Re.
Note: 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. 1/2018.
Top 10 Deadliest World Catastrophes, 1970-2017
|
(1) Dead and missing.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2018.
Man-made disasters
There were 301 catastrophic events in 2017, including 183 natural disasters and 118 man-made disaster, according to Swiss Re. Natural catastrophes resulted in $138.1 billion in insured losses, while man-made disasters caused $6.2 billion in insured losses. The deadliest man-made event was a bomb explosion in a mosque in Egypt that killed 311 people. Terrorism world-wide claimed 731 lives, up from 601 lives in 2016. In terms of insured losses, major fires and explosion were the costliest with $5.4 billion in losses. The September 11 terrorist attack in the U.S. was the costliest man-made disaster in history, based on Swiss Re data going back to 1970. It caused 26 billion in insured losses (in 2017 dollars). A fire in a garment factory in Bangladesh in April 2014 resulted in 1,127 deaths, making it one of the deadliest industrial fires in modern history.
Man-Made Disasters, 2017
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(1) Based on events classified by Swiss Re as a catastrophe. The threshold is $20.3 million in insured losses for maritime disasters, $40.7 million for aviation disasters and $50.5 million for other losses or $101.0 million in total economic losses; or at least 20 dead or missing, 50 injured or 2,000 made homeless.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, 1/2018.
Top 20 World Property Damage Losses In The Hydrocarbon Industry (1)
(US $ millions)
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(1) Property damage, debris removal and clean-up costs.
(2) Inflated to December 2013 values.
(3) Loss to refinery following the Tohuku earthquake.
(4) Preliminary.
Source: Energy Practice, Marsh & McLennan Companies.
Nuclear incidents
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rates the severity of nuclear incidents on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) from one (indicating an anomaly) to seven (indicating a major event). The scale considers an event’s impact based on three criteria: its effect on people and the environment; whether it caused unsafe levels of radiation in a facility; and if preventive measures did not function as intended. Scales six and seven designate full meltdowns, where the nuclear fuel reactor core overheats and melts. Partial meltdowns, in which the fuel is damaged, are rated four or five.
Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency assigned a rating of seven to the March 2011 accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The 1986 Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union is the only other incident to rate a seven. The Chernobyl incident killed 56 people directly and thousands of others indirectly through cancer and other diseases. The 2011 incident released high amounts of radiation and caused widespread evacuations in affected areas but only one death to date.
The 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the worst nuclear accident in the United States, was designated a five. Insurers paid about $71 million in liability claims and litigation costs associated with the accident. In addition to the liability payments to the public under the Price-Anderson Act, $300 million was paid by a pool of insurers to the operator of the damaged nuclear power plant under its property insurance policy.
Selected Examples Of Historic Nuclear Events, Classified By The INES (1)
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(1) International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.
Source: International Atomic Energy Agency. INES Flyer.
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