ZURICH (Reuters) – A deep winter freeze, hailstorms and wildfires led to natural catastrophe losses of $40 billion in the firsthalf of 2021, Swiss Re Institute’s preliminary estimates showed on Thursday.
This is above the previous 10-year average of $33 billion and the second highest on record for a first half after that of 2011, when earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand pushed the six-month total to $104 billion.
Man-made disasters triggered another $2 billion of insuredlosses in the first half, it estimated, less than usual and likely reflecting COVID-19 restrictions.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; editing by Jason Neely)
