Insurance industry losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters globally amounted to USD 83 billion in 2020, according to preliminary estimates from ICMIF Supporting Member Swiss Re. This makes it the fifth-costliest year for the industry since 1970. Losses were driven by a record number of severe convective storms (thunderstorms with tornadoes, floods and hail) and wildfires in the US. These and other secondary peril events around the world accounted for 70% of the USD 76 billion insured losses from natural catastrophes1. A very active North Atlantic hurricane season triggered an additional USD 20 billion of insurance claims, moderate compared to the record seasons of 2005 and 2017. The insurance industry covered 45% of global economic losses in 2020, above the ten-year-average of 37%.
