[World Talk] The heavy rainstorm in the United States this year caused insurance losses of 34 billion dollars. The insurance industry is in chaos, and people are increasingly difficult to claim compensation | Switzerland | heavy rainstorm
China Daily Online, August 14 (Xinhua) According to the report of the National Broadcasting Corporation of the United States, citing the Associated Press, recent data from Swiss Reinsurance Group showed that the successive severe heavy rainstorm in the United States in the first half of this year caused unprecedented economic losses in a short period of time, with insurance losses up to 34 billion dollars. Climate change is the reason for exacerbating the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events.
Screenshot of NBC report
Swiss Re Group announced on the 9th that so far this year, the losses caused by convective storms in the United States account for nearly 70% of the $50 billion in global catastrophic losses. These convective storms are extremely severe, with 10 storms causing losses of $1 billion or even more, almost twice the average recorded in the past decade.
The chief economist of the group, An Renli, pointed out in a statement that the impact of climate change can be seen in disasters such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, and extreme heavy rainfall. In addition, land use planning in coastal and river areas, as well as the expansion of cities into undeveloped areas, also have a difficult to recover impact on the formation of higher risk environments.
According to reports, the data released by Munich Reinsurance Group in July regarding the first half of 2023 is consistent with the Swiss Reinsurance Group's report. According to the former's data, the series of thunderstorms that struck Texas in June was the deadliest single event the United States has suffered so far this year. Estimates show that these thunderstorms alone caused a total loss of approximately $8.4 billion.
Marcus Winter, CEO of Munich Reinsurance Group's US subsidiary in North America, stated that "destructive storms now seem to be the norm, rather than an abnormal situation, and their intensity and severity are expected to continue to worsen." The top priority is to take immediate action and be prepared to deal with the health and financial risks associated with extreme weather events related to climate change in the future.
The increasingly frequent extreme weather in the United States has caused chaos in the insurance industry, with some insurance companies even withdrawing from heavily affected states. The report states that although insurance premiums have been soaring in heavily affected states for many years, these companies still choose to leave.
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State Agricultural Insurance and Good State Insurance have withdrawn from California's housing insurance market, and both companies have stated that increasing wildfire risks and soaring construction costs mean they will not develop new insurance policies in the most populous state in the United States.
In addition, American insurance giant Traveler Group also announced last month that its catastrophic losses in the past quarter have doubled, and the company has even experienced losses.
AAA Insurance in the United States has also joined other companies in imposing restrictions on its business in Florida. The company stated that it will not renew the "small portion" of homeowners and car insurance policies in Florida, which has been hit hard by the hurricane.
Although AAA Insurance insists it will not leave Florida, last year's devastating hurricane season led to an unprecedented increase in reinsurance rates, which increased the company's operating costs in the local area.
The chaos in the insurance industry has also brought difficulties for ordinary Americans to obtain compensation. The report mentioned that Peryton, Texas was one of the areas hit by a tornado in June this year. The town mayor, Kerry Simmons, said he and most residents here are still arguing with insurance companies.