Four of the five costliest natural catastrophes, measured by insured losses, during the first half of this year, occurred in the United States, while four of the five deadliest events occurred in Asia, Munich Re announced. Munich Re released Tuesday a report from its NatCatSERVICE database on natural catastrophe activity and losses for the first half of 2017. The costliest event, measured by insured losses of $1.8 billion, was a hailstorm and severe storm May 8 through 11 in the United States, Munich Re stated in a release, quoting Verisk Analytics Inc.’s Property Claim Services unit. All figures are in U.S. currency.