Natural disasters have caused economic losses of $310 billion worldwide this year, up 6% from 2023, as the climate crisis takes its toll, insurance giant Swiss Re said on Thursday.
Insured losses, meanwhile, swelled 17% year-on-year to 135 billion. dollars, with devastating hurricanes Helen and Milton driving up costs, Swiss Re said in a statement.
It marks the fifth year in a row that insured losses have exceeded $100 billion, the Swiss company said.
"Much of this growing loss burden results from the concentration of values in urban areas, economic growth and rising reconstruction costs," Balz Grollimund, Swiss Re's head of catastrophe and risk, said in a statement.
Swiss Re, which acts as an underwriter for insurance companies, has highlighted the impact of climate change as this year is expected to be the hottest year on record.
The company particularly highlighted the swelling insurance costs of floods, with heavy flooding in Europe and the United Arab Emirates alone leading insurers to pay out $13 billion. Thus, 2024 will be the third costliest year for flooding worldwide and the second costliest for Europe.
The United States meanwhile saw the highest insured losses.
Hurricanes Helen and Milton, which hit the southeastern United States in quick succession in late September and early October, alone resulted in estimated insured losses approaching $50 billion, Swiss Re said.
Combined with a high frequency of severe storms, that meant the United States accounted for at least two-thirds of total global insured losses in 2024, according to its estimates.
Source: KYPE
