Preliminary data from Aon’s latest market outlook report shows that through the first three months of 2019 re/insurers sustained natural catastrophe losses of $7.1 billion, 47% below the 15-year average of $13.5 billion.
Roughly $4 billion of that insured loss figure was sustained in the US, where five of the ten costliest Q1 events were recorded.
A large portion of the losses were driven by the “bomb cyclone” which in mid-March caused hurricane force winds, tornadoes, flooding and heavy snow to sweep through various parts of the American Midwest.
Aon says the costliest event of first quarter was in fact windstorm Eberhard, which in March lashed parts of the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Poland and Germany with wind speeds of up to 120kmh, causing widespread travel disruption and minor damage to buildings and vehicles.
AIR Worldwide pegged the insured losses from Eberhard at between €900 million and €1.5 billion, the majority of which was expected to be shouldered by Germany.
Windstorm Freya – another March storm – additionally cost insurers more than $200 million.
Asia-Pacific’s costliest industry event occurred in Queensland, when in February it experienced torrential rain and flash flooding.
The flooding was compounded further after flood gates at the Ross River dam were fully opened to drain dangerously high water levels, releasing up to 1,900 cubic metres of water a second and sweeping away cars and more than 300,000 livestock.
Aon says first quarter global catastrophe losses are historically the lightest of the year – with the most extreme outlier exception being 2011’s costly earthquake events in Asia-Pacific
