Storms, hail, floods: insurers expect relatively low natural disaster damage
Heat and drought have made climate change a bigger topic again. The actual damage from natural disasters has so far been below average. Good luck, say the insurers.
German insurers expect below-average damage from natural disasters this year, with losses of around €950 million in the first half from storms, hail, heavy rain, and flooding. The industry's association, GDV, forecasts total losses of €2 billion for the year, over €1 billion less than average, but notes that this is contingent on no major disasters occurring in the second half.
The GDV attributes the low damage so far to luck, rather than a decrease in extreme weather events, which are expected to increase in the long term due to climate change. The 10-year average annual damage from heavy rain, flooding, and backflow is €2.4 billion, up from €1.4 billion from 2000-2009.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
