Destroyed houses in the coastal neighborhood of El Muelle after Hurricane Iota made landfall in Bilwi, Nicaragua, on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Hurricane Iota slammed into Central America as the Atlantic's strongest storm of the year, bringing catastrophic winds and torrential rain to a region still reeling from a storm two weeks ago. (Photo: Carlos Herrera/Bloomberg) Among the year's worst weather events, Hurricane Iota devastated Central America in November as the Atlantic's strongest storm of the year, bringing catastrophic winds and torrential rain to a region recovering from a storm that hit just two weeks prior. (Photo: Carlos Herrera/Bloomberg)

Insured losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2020 totaled $83 billion, Swiss Re reports. Losses from natural disasters accounted for over 90% of the total, racking up $76 billion in insured losses globally — a 40% increase from the year prior.

At $83 billion, 2020 is now the fifth-costliest year for the insurance industry since 1970, researchers note. In context with the year's total global economic losses, insurance claims covered 45%, exceeding the ten-year-average of 37%, according to Swiss Re.

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Danielle Ling

Danielle Ling is an experienced video journalist and business reporter. As associate editor, Danielle manages all multimedia and reports on industry news and risk-related coverage, managing all weather-related content. A University of Maryland and Philip Merrill College of Journalism alum, Danielle previously served as a video journalist for Verizon FiOS 1 News NJ, Push Pause. Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn or email her at [email protected].

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