In the U.S., 24% of the total losses were due to natural catastrophes and of those claims, 40% originated from hurricanes and tornadoes. (Photo: ungavar/Adobe Stock)
Identifying emerging and evolving risks in the ever-changing insurance landscape is a little like looking into a crystal ball and trying to see into the future. However, the annual Global Claims Review 2022 from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) provides a well-documented look at the top loss sources and emerging trends based on claims from more than 200 countries and provides insights on what risks insurers should be monitoring.
|Assessing losses
AGCS examined over 530,000 insurance claims from 2017 to 2021 and estimates that insurers have paid an average of €88.7B ($90B) during that period or approximately €48M ($48.7M) per day. Their research also identified 10 specific causes that contributed to almost 75% of the financial losses, with the top three factors comprising 45% of the claims. These include:
|- Fire/explosion
- Natural catastrophes
- Faulty workmanship/maintenance
- Aviation collisions & crashes
- Machinery breakdowns
- Defective products
- Shipping incidents
- Damaged goods
- Negligence/misadvice
- Water damage
Fire and explosion (which excludes wildfire damage) accounted for 21% of the losses with significant losses in several countries including: Canada (38%), the Netherlands (20%), the U.K. (24%), Germany (37%), Italy (50%), Spain (21%), Singapore (24%) and South Africa (65%).
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Patricia L. Harman
Patricia L. Harman is the editor-in-chief of Claims magazine, a contributing editor to PropertyCasualty360.com, and chairs the annual America's Claims Event (ACE), which focuses on providing claims professionals with cutting-edge education and networking opportunities. She covers auto, property & casualty, workers' compensation, fraud, risk and cybersecurity, and is a frequent speaker at insurance industry events. Contact her at [email protected]
