April Catastrophes Racked Up $4B in U.S. Total Insured Losses

The beginning and end of April were costly in terms of insured losses. At least five separate severe weather outbreaks occurred across central and eastern sections of the U.S. during the month resulted in combined insured losses in excess of $4 billion according to Aon Benfield’s latest edition of its “Monthly Cat Recap” report.

According to the report, published by Impact Forecasting, the firm’s catastrophe model development center of excellence, the first outbreak, from April 3 to April 5, triggered about 1,500 storm reports, and resulted in more than 250,000 insurance claims being filed, with insured losses expected to exceed $1.25 billion. The second outbreak, which swept across parts of the Midwest, Plains and the Southeast, generated more than 300,000 insurance claims and insured losses of more than $1.35 billion.

The last wave of severe weather, the historic tornado outbreak in the Southeast from April 22 to April 28, brought catastrophic damage to parts of Alabama and Mississippi. Early reports from state government insurance agencies noted that losses from the event were already in excess of $1.3 billion, including $1 billion in Alabama alone.

The National Weather Service confirmed a record 178 tornado touchdowns in a 24-hour period.

“The scale and ferocity of these weather systems has defined them as historic events,” says Steve Jakubowski, president of Impact Forecasting. “And, as has been the case for other natural perils during the past 12 months or so, large insured losses incurred outside of traditional peak peril zones will no doubt be causing some re/insurers to review their global exposures to weather risk.”

Also in April, the Texas Forest Service reported that wildfires affected more than 1.5 million acres of land, and destroyed at least 310 homes, businesses and churches. The Insurance Council of Texas recorded initial insured losses in excess of $150 million, with additional damage to fencing, pipelines and other farm assets totaling $33 million.

The report also contains information from other parts of the world:

South America: The Brazilian government allocated BRL400 million ($255 million) for recovery efforts after severe thunderstorms caused extensive damage in regions of Rio de Janeiro during April.

Asia: A series of hailstorms in China killed at least 21 people and injured 155 others. The Ministry of Civil affairs reported that more than 3,200 homes were severely damaged amid total economic losses of CNY171 million (USD26.2 million). Flood events were recorded in Kazakhstan, Indonesia and the Philippines during the month, while in India, a tornado hit northern towns in Bangladesh on April 4, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 150 others.

Europe: A strong storm system affected parts of Norway and Iceland during the month, with high winds and heavy rains damaging hundreds of homes and businesses in each country. Norwegian insurance companies reported that a large number of claims had been filed.