Flood costs mount in Europe as global nat cat losses top $7bn in May

In its latest Global Catastrophe Recap report, Aon Benfield explained that storm Elvira, which swept across parts of northern Europe in May and the beginning of June, causing widespread flooding, is expected to result in an insurance bill of at least €2bn ($2.3bn). Meanwhile, Canadian wildfires throughout May will likely result in insured losses of over $3.1bn, noted Impact Forecasting, the reinsurance broker's catastrophe model development team. This will make it the costliest disaster in Canada's history. Aon Benfield said that convective storms and widespread flooding from storm Elvira swept across parts of northern Europe in late May and early June. Germany, France, Austria, Poland and Belgium were the worst hit countries where floods impacted many major metropolitan regions, including Paris. Insurance industry associations in France (AFA) and Germany (GDV) preliminarily estimate combined claims payouts of over €2.0bn ($2.3bn). Tentative overall economic damage is estimated at €4.0bn ($4.6bn), said Aon Benfield.hideThe AFA estimates insured losses between €900m and €1.4bn in France alone. It said the number of claims could reach 150,000. These estimates are consistent with those made by the Caisse Centrale de Reassurance (CCR). Losses from the wildfire that caused catastrophic damage in the Canadian city of Fort McMurray during May is expected to exceed $3.1bn, according to Aon Benfield. These losses include physical damage and business interruption. The fire charred more than 580,000 hectares of land and destroyed at least 10% of Fort McMurray, including more than 2,400 homes and other structures. Adam Podlaha, global head of Impact Forecasting, said: "The severity of the wildfire damage in Fort McMurray is an unfortunate reminder of how significant insurable losses can be from the peril. The situation in Canada has already allowed for a strong and cooperative response from both the government and the insurance industry as residents and business owners seek to assess the damage and begin the recovery process. Since this is just the sixth individual global wildfire to surpass the billion-dollar threshold for insurers, there is not a lot of precedent for a fire event of this magnitude." In addition to the losses in Europe and Canada, five severe convective storms hit the US last month. Parts of the Plains, Midwest and Mississippi Valley were impacted by damaging tornadoes, straight-line winds and large hail. Storm-related flooding also caused major damage to Texas. Total insured losses for these events are expected to exceed $1bn, according to Impact Forecasting. In Asia, Cyclone Roanu brought torrential rainfall to Sri Lanka, eastern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China during May. Nearly 125,000 homes and structures were damaged or destroyed across all five countries. The estimated cost of reconstruction could reach $1.7bn, though insured losses were substantially less given low insurance penetration, said Aon Benfield. Also in May, five separate floods impacted China with total economic losses of $1.5bn. Most damage was caused to agriculture. Other major flood and landslide events were reported in parts of Hispaniola, Kenya, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Ethiopia, India and Yemen last month. Tropical Storm Bonnie brought heavy rainfall to portions of the Carolinas and Georgia in the US, but economic losses are expected to be minimal.

Flood costs mount in Europe as global nat cat losses top $7bn in May

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