ZURICH, March 30 — Total losses caused by natural and man-made disasters shot up by 35 per cent to US$202 billion (RM837 billion) in 2020, Swiss reinsurance giant Swiss Re said today.
The amount of losses covered by insurers increased by 40 per cent from 2019 to US$89 billion, making it the fifth-costliest year for the industry on record since 1970, Swiss Re said in a statement, revising its initial estimates upwards.
In mid-December, the Swiss group, which acts as an insurer for insurers, carried out an initial assessment, estimating the figure at US$87 billion.
On the final reckoning of US$89 billion, US$81 billion in costs arose from natural disasters, the costs of which have increased by 48 per cent compared to 2019, said Swiss Re, which again highlighted the increase in costs generated by so-called “secondary peril events”.
More frequent than exceptional disasters, these second-level events — including thunderstorms, hailstorms, floods or landslides — alone accounted for 71 per cent of the costs for natural disasters covered by insurers.
Their cost increased in 2020 mainly due to storms and fires in Australia and the United States.
“We have seen an increase in losses from secondary perils in recent years, such as severe convective storms, floods and wildfires,” said Martin Bertogg, Swiss Re’s head of catastrophe perils
Primary and secondary perils “are affected by the same loss-driving risk trends, including population growth, increasing property values in exposed regions and the effects of climate change”, he said.
“This suggests that with climate change, future peak loss scenarios could also increase significantly.”
The costs of claims generated by human activities, such as industrial accidents or fires, meanwhile decreased by 10 per cent to US$8 billion due to the restrictions imposed to rein in the Covid-19 pandemic. — AFP
