By Emily Miller
In 2013, there were 308 disaster events that occurred throughout the world, of which 150 were natural catastrophes and 158 were mad-made. Almost 26,000 people either lost their lives or went missing in the disasters, according to Swiss Re 2013 Sigma Report.
There was Typhoon Haiyan that struck the Philippines in November, which was one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded. There was Windstorm Christian (also known as St. Jude’s Day storm) that severely hurt many European countries – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, France, U.K. and Sweden – and produced record-setting wind speeds. There was series of five tornadoes that struck Moore, Oklahoma, which killed 24 people and injuring 377 others.
According to Swiss Re, these disaster events caused two types of monetary loss in addition to loss of human life, wildlife and environmental destruction.
Economic losses from catastrophes worldwide were USD 140 billion. Asia has the highest losses, with the cyclones in the Pacific generating most of the economic loss. North American and Europe followed close behind.
Insured losses amounted to USD 45 billion, down from USD 81 billion in 2012 due largely to the benign hurricane season in the US. The biggest losses came from large-scale floods in Europe and Canada, hail and windstorms in Europe, and thunderstorms and tornadoes in U.S. and in the Philippines.
The wide gap between economic and insured losses caused by natural disasters places a significant burden on the public sector, and ultimately, uninsured individuals and businesses.
The global insurance protection gap in 2013 was USD 95 billion, according to Swiss Re. This is the amount of financial loss generated by catastrophes not covered by insurance.
In North American, insured losses were USD 19 billion in 2013, which was the largest in any region. Primary insured loss was due to floods in Canada, and several tornadoes outbreaks and related thunderstorms in the US. In fact, there were four events that caused more than US 1 billion or above in insured losses.
| North American | |
| Victims lost |
249 |
| Total losses (USD) |
32 bn |
| Insured losses (USD) |
19 bn |
The chart highlights the total victims lost, total economic loss and total insured loss that occurred in North America in 2013. Information was gathered by Swiss Re’s economic research and consulting team.
The single most costly weather event that struck North American is 2013 was the series of violent tornadoes that spawned across the Great Plains. These violent tornadoes took place during the month of May. A total of 24 people were killed and insured losses amounted to a staggering USD 1.8 billion.
The second most costly event was the series of thunderstorms and very large hailstorms in the Mississippi Valley, which ran from March through to November. The total insured loss for the thunderstorms amounted to USD 1.6 billion and USD 1 billion for the tornado outbreak.
While the number of recorded tornadoes was below average for the second year running, the damages caused by these some 891 tornadoes caused significant economic and insured losses. In fact, 2013 was ranked as the sixth costliest tornado and thunderstorm season by Swiss Re’s Sigma report.
In addition to natural disasters, North Americans saw its fair share of man-made disasters in 2013.
The collapse of a pit wall at a cooper mine caused the highest insured loss from a man-made disaster. Operations were also put on halt due to the reconstruction that caused additional financial strain.
Natural and man-made disasters that occurred during 2013 highlight the importance of the insurance industry.
