Europe’s January Windstorms Caused More than $2B in Insured Losses: Aon

February 9, 2018

European windstorms Friederike, Eleanor and Carmen wreaked widespread damage in January, causing insured losses of more than $2 billion, according to a report published by Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team.

Of the Atlantic storm systems that hit Western and Central Europe during the month, the most significant was Windstorm Friederike, the report confirmed. Hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy rainfall affected Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom, with at least 13 people killed, said the report titled “Global Catastrophe Recap January 2018.”

Windstorm Friederike was the costliest windstorm in the country since Windstorm Kyrill in 2007, with preliminary payouts listed at approximately €1 billion (US$1.24 billion), said the report quoting the German Insurance Association (GDV). Additional payouts exceeding €100 million (US$125 million) were reported by other regional insurance groups, said the report, which noted that overall economic losses were even higher.

Windstorms Eleanor and Carmen also roared through Western and Central Europe during the month, killing at least seven people and causing damage in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Preliminary insured losses were listed in the hundreds of millions of euros, the report added.

“A meteorologically active January resulted in elevated windstorm losses in Europe,” said Michal Lörinc, an analyst with Impact Forecasting’s Catastrophe Insight team.

“When looking at the combined effect of storms Friederike, Eleanor and Carmen, windstorm-related economic and insured losses in Europe are already comparable to the annual totals recorded throughout 2017,” he said.

Impact Forecasting recounted other global natural disaster events in January include:

Source: Impact Forecasting/Aon Benfield