World’s Catastrophes in 2004 Took 300,000 Lives, Cost $49 Billion in Insured Losses, Finds Swiss Re Study

More than 300,000 people died in natural and man-made catastrophes in 2004 – the tsunami in the Indian Ocean alone left 280,000 dead or missing.

According to the latest study by Swiss Re, catastrophes caused insured losses totalling $49 billion worldwide; most of this figure was due to windstorms in the U.S. and Japan.

Swiss Re’s sigma statistics for 2004 identify around 330 natural and man-made catastrophes worldwide, in which more than 300,000 people lost their lives. By far the largest number of victims was claimed by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean: the authorities in the twelve coastal states affected reported 280,000 people dead or missing.

The sigma study puts the total losses directly attributable to these natural and man-made catastrophes at $123 billion- of this figure, $49 billion was covered by property insurance. For property insurers, 2004 was a record year in terms of claims, mainly due to windstorms: hurricanes in the U.S. and neighboring countries cost insurers around $32 billions,and typhoons in Japan and neighboring countries an additional $6 billion.

These record figures were the result of both the unusually high number of storms – 13 hurricanes in the U.S. and 10 typhoons in Japan – and the increasing concentration of insured assets in highly exposed coastal regions. Climatologists attribute the high windstorm frequency to above-average sea-surface temperatures and the high year-round average temperatures measured in the last decade. 2004 was the fourth-warmest year around the world since regular temperature measurements started in 1861.

The trend toward increasing concentrations of assets was highlighted by the damage inflicted by the hurricanes in Florida: the enormous losses of $19 billion have to be seen against the background of 70% population growth between 1980 and 2001; in the same period, the state’s gross domestic product increased by 130%.

The sigma study also traces the biggest losses since 1970. The statistics show that, at almost $50 billion, insured losses have taken on a new dimension. Unlike in 1992 and 2001, when one-off events such as hurricane Andrew and the 11 September terrorist attack dominated the claims burden, the record impact in 2004 was due to an aggregation of several costly losses.