Natural Disaster Insured Losses Fall in First Half of 2018: Munich Re
Munich Re reports that insured losses for the first half of 2018 were significantly lower than in 2017, totaling just $17 billion. However, individual events caused high losses in specific areas, and Munich Re also cautions that the second half of the year generally generates higher losses. The first half of the year was marked by windstorms and cold weather in Europe and North America. The most destructive event was Storm Friederike, which swept across the United Kingdom, northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany in mid-January. North America was hit by several widespread snowstorms, or Nor'easters, from the end of February to mid-March. The most destructive event was a blizzard in the first week of March, which caused overall losses of $2.2 billion, of which $1.6 billion was insured. In total, Munich Re said, winter losses in Europe came to $4.8 billion, of which $3.6 billion was insured. The winter in North America caused overall losses in the first half of the year totaling $3.8 billion and insured losses of $2.7 billion.