Insured losses due to natural disasters reached at least $17 billion in the first quarter of 2024 and were slightly above the average of $16 billion, according to a report from Aon Plc on Monday.
However, reported data showed that losses in the first quarter of this year were 43.3% smaller than the $30 billion insured losses in the first quarter of 2023.
Severe convective storms caused losses totaling $8.7 billion, or more than half, in the first quarter, according to the report’s data. Winter weather was second with $3.5 billion and flooding was third with $1.5 billion.
Aon said most of the severe convective storms and winter weather events occurred in the United States and accounted for the majority of global insured losses in the first quarter. Severe convective storm events in both January and March topped $1 billion, reaching $2.2 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively.
Aon said in its report that loss estimates could increase because natural disaster events can cause additional losses, known as “loss creep.”
“It is worth noting that these numbers are subject to change as estimates of individual event losses evolve even months after the event date,” the report said.
Total losses from the Noto incident in Japan are still preliminary and are expected to grow, but could exceed $1 billion, for example.
