FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The wrath of Hurricane Ida and Texas freezes made 2021 one of the costliest years on record for insurers, Swiss Re said on Tuesday, as populations and industry grapple with the prospect of increasingly severe weather events amid climate change.
Insured losses from natural catastrophes totalled $105 billion this year, the fourth highest since reinsurer Swiss Re began keeping records in 1970.
“Natural catastrophe losses are likely to continue to grow more than global GDP given increases in wealth, urbanisation and climate change,” Swiss Re said in a statement with its annual tally and referring to gross domestic product.
More than 10,000 people lost their lives or are still missing as a result of this year’s disasters, Swiss Re said.
Hurricane Ida, where damage stretched from New Orleans to New York, resulted in $30-$32 billion in insured losses, while winter storm Uri, which primarily hit Texas, resulted in $15 billion in losses.
(Reporting by Tom Sims and Paul Arnold, Editing by Miranda Murray)
