Catastrophe loss data aggregator PERILS has released the final industry loss footprint for extratropical storm Sabine (Ciara).
The event affected a wide area from the British Isles into Western and Central Europe from 9 to 11 February 2020.
The total industry event loss figure, based on detailed loss data collected from the majority of the affected insurers, is EUR 1.571b ($1.9bn).
This figure is less than PERILS’ previous loss estimate of EUR 1.611b ($1.95bn) which was released in August last year.
Whilst some country’s had their losses increase slightly, other regions experienced a decline due to releases of loss reserves, leading to a marginal reduction of 2.5% in the overall industry loss figure.
The event produced over 1 million individual claims across Europe which were successfully handled by the insurance industry despite the impact of COVID-19.
The loss to the insurance industry from Sabine represents the largest Cat industry loss in 2020 outside the U.S. The majority of the industry loss occurred in Germany, followed by France, the Benelux countries, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Austria.
Whilst the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden were impacted by the event, the insured losses were relatively minor.
Dalida Bachmann, PERILS’ new Head of Client Relationships, commented: “Windstorm Sabine represents the largest international cat industry loss of 2020. Despite this, the final loss estimate of EUR 1.571b is by no means an extraordinary sum for a European windstorm event.
“We estimate that there have been 13 European windstorms since 1979 which would have exceeded the Sabine loss figure had they occurred today. These events include 87J, Daria, Herta, Vivian, Wiebke, Anatol, Lothar, Martin, Jeanett, Kyrill, Klaus, Xynthia and Friederike. On this basis, we estimate that the Europe-wide market loss level seen with Sabine would be reached or exceeded on average once every three years.”
