Aon plc has published its 2024 Climate and Catastrophe Insight report, which identifies global natural disaster and climate trends to help organizations make better decisions to manage volatility and enhance global resilience.
The report states that the 398 global natural disaster events that occurred in 2023 caused a $380 billion (2022: $355 billion) economic loss. This was 22 percent above the 21st-century average – driven by significant earthquakes and severe convective storms (SCS) in the United States and Europe.
Global insurance losses during the year were 31 percent above the 21st-century average, exceeding $100 billion for the fourth year in a row. With insurance covering only $118 billion (2022: $151 billion), or 31 percent of total losses, the ‘protection gap’ stood at 69 percent (2022: 58 percent), which highlights the urgency to expand insurance coverage.
The number of large-loss natural hazard events reached record levels in 2023, with 66 billion-dollar economic loss events, and 37 billion-dollar insured loss events. Earthquakes caused the most economic losses, while severe convective storms were most costly to insurers. New Zealand, Italy, Greece, Slovenia and Croatia all recorded their costliest weather-related insurance events on record.
The report highlights that 95,000 people globally lost their lives due to natural hazards in 2023 – the highest number since 2010 – resulting largely from earthquakes and heatwaves.
In terms of climate, 2023 was the hottest year on record with ‘unprecedented temperature anomalies’, and all-time highs observed in 24 countries and territories.
