Munich Re: Natural disasters caused losses of $270B in 2022
According to a recent report from Munich Re, around $120 billion of the natural disaster losses in 2022 were insured.
Global natural disaster losses in 2022 totaled $270 billion USD, according to a recent report from Munich Re. Around $120 billion of these losses were insured, which comes in above the average of $97 billion in insured losses from 2017 to 2021.
Weather events caused the most damage, and Hurricane Ian – which hit parts of the United States and Cuba in September – was the most costly event worldwide, causing total losses around $100 billion.
“Climate change is taking an increasing toll,” Munich Re Board of Management member Thomas Blunck said in a release. “The natural disaster figures for 2022 are dominated by events that, according to the latest research findings, are more intense or are occurring more frequently. In some cases, both trends apply. Another alarming aspect we witness time and again is that natural disasters hit people in poorer countries especially hard. Prevention and financial protection, for example in the form of insurance, must therefore be given higher priority.”
Other than Hurricane Ian, Munich Re reports the most costly natural disasters worldwide in 2022 included:
- Severe flooding in Pakistan from record-breaking rainfall. In the month of August 2022, the country received between five- and seven-times the normal amount of rain. Munich Re reports glacier melt caused by high temperatures exaggerated the flooding. Around 1,700 people were killed in the floods, and direct losses are estimated at $15 billion.
- Flash flooding and severe river flooding from heavy rainfall in southeast Australia in February and March 2022 affected major population centers like Brisbane and Sidney. Another bout of extreme rainfall in October 2022 led to even more disastrous flooding in southeastern Australia. In total, flooding caused losses of around $8.1 billion in Australia last year.
- Losses from natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region increased to an estimated $70 billion. These disasters included a 7.4 earthquake in Japan ($8.8 billion in losses), which became the second-costliest natural disaster to hit this region.
- Monsoon rains caused flooding in large areas of Nigeria and destroyed over 100,000 buildings and more than 1.2 million acres of farmland between June and October 2022. In April, Eastern South Africa experienced damaging flash flooding and torrential rainfall. Munich Re reports each of these flood events caused losses around $4 billion, and a total of 1,073 people died.