Insured Losses Hit $120B As Extreme Weather Spreads

The insurance industry is struggling to adapt to a new normal in which losses fueled by climate change are now regularly exceeding $100 billion a year.

Insured losses from natural disasters hit about $120 billion in 2022, most of which was weather related, according to data compiled by Munich Re. Hurricane Ian, which devastated Florida in September, was responsible for about half that.

Including uninsured losses, the total cost of storms, droughts, earthquakes and fires last year was $270 billion.

‘There is no denying that climate change is driving losses from natural catastrophes,’ Ernst Rauch, chief climate scientist at Munich Re, said in an interview. ‘Insured losses of more than $100 billion a year are the new normal.’