Zurich | The costs of natural disasters in 2021 amounted to some 250 billion dollars (221 billion euros), according to a first estimate published Tuesday by the reinsurer Swiss Re, up 24% compared to 2020.
The bill for insurers is estimated at 105 billion dollars, up 17% from the previous year, said the Swiss reinsurer in a press release, making it the fourth most costly year for companies. insurance since 1970 to cover the costs generated by natural disasters, he says.
“In 2021, the insured losses caused by natural disasters have again exceeded the previous ten-year average,” noted the group which acts as an insurer for insurers, stressing that the trend is in the direction of an increase 5 to 6% per year of losses for insurers over the last decades.
The costliest natural disaster for insurers this year was Storm Ida, which led to flooding in New York, for which the bill for insurers is estimated at around $ 30 billion to $ 32 billion.
Then comes the winter storm Uri, with the cold wave that had spread to Texas, affecting the electricity network in particular, the damage borne by insurers being estimated at $ 15 billion.
The July floods in Germany and Belgium as well as neighboring countries were the costliest disaster in Europe, causing $ 40 billion in economic losses and a $ 13 billion bill for insurers.
To these natural disasters are added disasters and human accidents, economic losses being estimated at 9 billion dollars, down 38% over one year, the bill for insurers being estimated at 7 billion, down by 24%.