World Insurance Losses
Natural catastrophes
- In 2020 insured losses from natural catastrophes totaled $97 billion, according to Aon, an increase of 26 percent from 2019 losses of $77 billion in 2020 dollars but down from $100 billion-plus losses in 2017 and 2018. Hurricane Laura and the severe convective storm that included the Midwest derecho—both in the United States—were the largest insured loss events in 2020, resulting in $10.0 billion and $8.3 billion in losses, respectively.
- All of 2020’s top insured natural disasters affected the United States.
- There were 416 natural disaster events in 2020, about the same as in 2019, when there were 420 events. In 2020 there were 155 flooding events and 118 severe weather events which resulted in insured losses of $9 billion and $42 billion, respectively.
- There were 45 tropical cyclones, costing $25 billion in insured losses and 28 wildfires, that resulting in $12 billion in insured losses. 2020 had 23 winter weather events, along with 21 European windstorms, 18 earthquakes, 6 droughts and 2 other perils accounting for the remaining events.
Natural catastrophe events resulted in about 8.1 million deaths in 2020. Eight of the top 10 deadliest natural catastrophes in 2020 involved flooding, including the deadliest event, the India monsoon floods that killed 1,922 people over the four months from June to September. Pakistan’s monsoon floods ranked second with 410 deaths.
Aon noted that the $97 billion in insured losses in 2020 were 40 percent above the average of the 21st century. The $97 billion represented only 36 percent of total economic losses, leaving a 64 percent global protection gap. In 2020 there were 28 billion-dollar insured loss events, the highest on record.
2020 also broke other records. The Atlantic Hurricane season produced a record 30 named storms, 13 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes. The U.S. mainland had 12 of those named storms, including six hurricanes make landfall. Wildfires burned a record number of acres in California, but also burned 30 percent of the drought-stricken Pantanal Region in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Aon noted that these record-breaking catastrophes occurred as the world struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic and resulted in major challenges from a relief and recovery standpoint.
