Page 19 - Turkinsurance Digital Magazine

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More than 1,500 people were killed globally, which is significantly Regionally, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for the largest
lower than the long-term average. The deadliest event was the Noto portion of global economic losses, largely due to the Noto Earth-
earthquake with 245 killed, followed by flooding in the DRC and quake, with total losses of $20 billion. In contrast to the pre-
Congo in January (240) and the devastating Chile wildfires in Feb- vious year, which saw extraordinary losses due to devastating
ruary (131). With persisting extreme anomalies of ocean tempera- earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the EMEA region experienced
tures and La Niña conditions expected to develop later in the year, approximately $2 billion in economic losses in the first quarter
the latest forecasts for the upcoming hurricane season in the North of 2024. Losses in the Americas remained close to average, with
Atlantic suggest extremely high activity, with an average number the largest losses in the region attributed to ongoing drought in
of 11 hurricanes. Brazil.

Global economic losses due to natural disasters in the first quarter Incidents caused by severe storms took the
of 2024 were preliminarily estimated at $45 billion, nearly 50 per- lead in insurance damages
cent higher than the long-term mean, but 20 percent lower than the
recent decadal average since 2014 ($55 billion). The number of It is estimated that global insurance losses from natural disas-
billion-dollar events was 12, eight of which occurred in the United ters in the first quarter of 2024 will reach at least $17 billion.
States, two in South America, and two in Asia. It is worth noting This figure is slightly above the average since 2000, which has
that these numbers are subject to change as individual event loss been $16 billion. Severe convective storms and winter condi-
estimates tend to evolve even months after the date of occurrence. tions in the United States accounted for the majority of global
insured losses in the first quarter. While the total loss from the
Noto Earthquake in Japan is still in its early stages, it is indicat-
Global insured losses from natural disaster events in the first quar-
ter of 2024 are estimated to reach at least $17 billion, which was ed that it could exceed $1 billion.
close to the average since 2000 ($16 billion) and notably higher
than the median ($12 billion) for the period. It is a significant drop The most deadly event was the Noto Earth-
from the exceptional losses in Q1 of 2023, which were driven by the quake
elevated SCS activity in the United States. There were at least four As a result of natural disasters, over 1,500 people lost their lives
billiondollar events. Due to expected loss development, additional worldwide. The deadliest event was the Noto Earthquake, which
events might cross the threshold. claimed the lives of 245 people, followed by floods in the Dem-
ocratic Republic of the Congo in January, resulting in the death
Severe convective storms and winter weather events in the United of 240 people, and forest fires in Chile in February, causing the
States generated most of the global insured losses in the first quar- death of 131 people. Additionally, in mid-January of this year,
ter. The total loss from the Noto event in Japan is still preliminary deadly winter conditions and cold weather events across most of
and expected to evolve but might exceed the $1 billion mark. the 48 states in the United States led to the death of more than
70 people. This marked one of the deadliest winter seasons in
According to the report revealing the economic losses caused by the the United States in the 21st century.
increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters on a global
scale, total economic losses due to some significant disasters in the “Upcoming hot weather could further increase
first quarter of 2024 exceeded $45 billion. However, this figure
was lower than the first quarter average of the 21st century, which insurance damages”
was $59 billion, and the $149 billion losses in the first quarter of Assessing the findings of the report, Ferhan Özay, Co-CEO of
2023. Aon Turkey, stated, "It has been a quarter period where we ex-
pect global insurance damages to reach at least $17 billion.
In the first quarter of the year, there were twelve events that caused During this period, the portion of total assets not covered by in-
impacts of over one billion dollars, eight in the United States, two surance is approximately at the level of 64% of total damages.
in South America, and two in Asia. The costliest natural disaster Severe convective storms, particularly in the United States, have
of the first quarter was the Noto Earthquake, which struck Japan increased insured losses due to disasters, as they are increasing-
on January 1st and is estimated to have caused over $17 billion in ly covered by insurance. On the other hand, continued extreme
damage. This earthquake was followed by severe convective storms anomalies in ocean temperatures and potential new disasters ex-
that affected some regions of the United States in mid-March. Se- pected to emerge later in the year due to the developing La Niña
vere winter conditions primarily affecting China in early February pose the potential to further increase these damages.”
also ranked among the costliest natural disasters.

In the first quarter of 2024, the top 5 global disasters causing the most economic losses were
as follows:

Disaster Date Country Number of Deaths Economic Loss (billion
dollars)
Noto Earthquake 01/01 Japan 245 17.6
Severe Convective Storms 03/12-03/16 USA 3 4.5
Harsh Winter Season 02/04-02/08 China, Japan 11 2.7
Severe Convective Storms 01/08-01/10 USA 5 2.6

Harsh Winter Season 01/15-01/21 USA, Canada 73 1.3