Swiss Re Institute estimates global insured catastrophe losses of USD 31 billion in first half of 2020, mostly from secondary perils

• Global insured property losses from disasters were USD 31 billion in the first half of 2020, up from USD 23 billion a year earlier
• Natural catastrophes accounted for USD 28 billion of the insured losses, most resulting from secondary perils events
• Severe convective storms in North America caused insured losses of over USD 21 billion, the highest since the first half of 2011
• Disaster events claimed more than 2 000 victims in H1 2020

Global economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in the first half of 2020 were USD 75 billion, according to Swiss Re Institute's preliminary sigma estimates. That was up from the USD 57 billion for the same period a year earlier, but well below the average of first-half economic losses of the previous 10 years (USD 112 billion). Of the economic losses, around 40% (USD 31 billion) were covered by insurance. In the previous 10 years, first-half insured claims averaged USD 36 billion annually. These sigma catastrophe loss estimates are for property damage, and exclude COVID-19 related claims. More than 2 000 people lost their lives or went missing in disaster events during the first half of this year. The main driver of the first half losses were secondary perils, with thunderstorms in North America playing a significant role.

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