Insurers rack up $50bn in losses from pure catastrophes this yr

Obtain free Insurance coverage updates

We’ll ship you a myFT Every day Digest electronic mail rounding up the newest Insurance coverage information each morning.

The worldwide insurance coverage trade has racked up $50bn in losses from pure catastrophes within the worst begin to a yr since 2011, highlighting the problem the sector faces from international warming.

In addition to local weather change resulting in extra excessive climate occasions, the first-half losses had been pushed by the enlargement of city areas and the rising value of insuring them, in response to a broadly watched research by reinsurance group Swiss Re revealed on Wednesday.

“The consequences of local weather change can already be seen in sure perils like heatwaves, droughts, floods and excessive precipitation,” mentioned Jérôme Jean Haegeli, the reinsurer’s chief economist.

He mentioned it was “excessive time to put money into extra local weather adaptation”, saying that “protecting measures” wanted to be taken for insurance coverage to stay reasonably priced for properties that had been being inbuilt at-risk areas.

So-called convective storms, characterised by heavy rain, sturdy winds and sharp temperature modifications, accounted for greater than two-thirds of the losses within the first half of the yr and have turn into “one of many dominant international drivers” of insurance coverage claims, Swiss Re mentioned. 

The $35bn in losses from such occasions within the six months to the top of June in contrast with an annual common of $18bn over the previous decade. Floods in New Zealand and Europe additionally contributed to the $50bn whole.

Coming shortly earlier than the beginning of hurricane season, the losses will deepen considerations over the trade’s means to maintain up with pure catastrophes — with annual claims exceeding $100bn seen as a “new regular” for the sector. The arrival of the El Niño climate phenomenon is anticipated to gas yet-higher international temperatures.

In response to the rising invoice from pure catastrophes — propelled by inflation in materials and labour prices — reinsurers have demanded a lot greater costs for canopy. In its half-year outcomes on Wednesday, FTSE 100 insurer Hiscox mentioned pure disaster reinsurance costs in North America had been up 43 per cent.

The rising value of reinsurance is squeezing direct insurers. US underwriter State Farm cited a “difficult reinsurance market” in addition to “quickly rising disaster publicity” when it introduced in Might it will stop writing owners insurance coverage for brand spanking new prospects in California.

“We’re a part of a system that must be economically viable, and if society decides to do sure issues that result in local weather change, this must be priced,” mentioned Swiss Re’s chief government Christian Mumenthaler on the publication of its half-year outcomes final week. It elevated costs for property and disaster reinsurance by a fifth on the July renewals.

“It’s our obligation to offer pricing alerts again to society by way of the first insurance coverage carriers,” Mumenthaler instructed the Monetary Occasions.

Total financial losses from pure catastrophes, which embrace these that aren’t insured, got here in at $120bn for the primary half, with February’s earthquake in Turkey and Syria a big contributor.

That whole was greater than 40 per cent greater than the typical over the previous decade, and near the $123bn within the first half of final yr.