In a year marked by devastating storms and cold snaps in the United States, Munich Re said on Monday that 2021 was the second most expensive year on record for the world’s insurers, warning that extreme weather is becoming more common as a result of climate change.
Last year, insured natural disaster losses were roughly $120 billion, second only to the $146 billion in damages suffered during the hurricane-plagued year of 2017.
Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, announced its yearly tally earlier this month, which was higher than Swiss Re’s forecast of $105 billion.
The United States, which was hit by dozens of tornadoes in December, as well as Hurricane Ida and freezes in Texas earlier in the year, accounted for a disproportionately big share of the losses, according to Munich Re.
“Natural calamities in 2021 are depicted in unsettling ways. Extreme weather is becoming more common, according to climate science “Torsten Jeworrek, a Munich Re board member, remarked
Natural disasters claimed the lives of about 10,000 individuals, as in previous years. Total losses, including those not covered by insurance, totaled $280 billion, making it the fourth-highest on record.
Hurricane Ida caused $36 billion in insured damages, with destruction extending from New Orleans to New York. Around $15 billion was lost as a result of the winter storm that mostly struck Texas. Floods in Germany have also cost billions.
“The disaster numbers for 2021 are noteworthy since some of the extreme weather occurrences are anticipated to become more common or severe as a result of climate change,” said Ernst Rauch, Munich Re’s Chief Climate and Geo-Scientist.
Many experts think that climate change intensified events in 2021 and that more – and worse – is on the way as the Earth’s atmosphere warms over the next decade and beyond.
2017 was the most expensive year on record, thanks to hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Other devastating years included 2011, when large earthquakes struck Japan and New Zealand, and 2005 when Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on New Orleans.
As a result of the increased possibility of disasters, insurers have increased their prices in some circumstances and stopped providing coverage in others.
Activists are pressuring insurers to quit insuring filthy industries as they warn about climate change and the expenses connected with it.
