2015 first-half catastrophe activity in the North America - the vast majority in the United States - was the lightest since the first six months of 2010, resulting this year in US$8.1 billion in insured losses, note figures released Wednesday by Property Claims Services (PCS), a Verisk Analytics business. PCS designated 26 catastrophe events (25 in the U.S.) in North America in the first half of 2015. This 20% increase in frequency was coupled with the 36% decrease in severity, notes Barely a Whisper: PCS Q2 2015 Catastrophe Review, available to users of the company's loss aggregation service.