Insurers face minimum $1bn payout following February U.S. winter weather losses, according to Aon catastrophe study

Boston set to register snowiest winter season on record

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Mar 06, 2015, 10:24 ET

CHICAGO, March 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield's catastrophe model development team, today launches the latest edition of its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, which evaluates the impact of the natural disaster events that occurred worldwide during February 2015. Aon Benfield is the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc (NYSE: AON).

The report reveals that five separate periods of heavy snow, frigid cold, freezing rain and ice impacted the U.S. Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Plains and Southeast during the month, killing 72 people. Boston registered its snowiest and second-coldest February on record, and was poised to challenge the winter season of 1995/96 as the snowiest in its recorded history.

Early estimates suggest aggregated economic losses from the events will be in the low-digit billions of dollars, with insured losses likely to exceed USD1.0 billion.

Steve Bowen, Impact Forecasting senior scientist and meteorologist, said: "Prolific winter weather highlighted a very active February for the eastern half of the United States. Boston was the epicenter for record snowfall that resulted from an onslaught of strong winter storm systems. Arctic cold, including multiple returns of the Polar Vortex, also contributed to residential and commercial losses that impacted dozens of states. As we begin to transition to the start of the severe weather season, it will be interesting to see if a cooler pattern lingers into the spring months. Should such a scenario occur, it is entirely possible that U.S. tornado totals could remain at historically low levels for a fourth consecutive year."

Elsewhere, two spells of winter weather impacted parts of Europe and Asia. In Europe, 19 people died as heavy snow fell across large areas of the continent resulting in power outages and transport disruptions. While in Asia, large avalanches killed at least 286 people and destroyed 1,250 homes in Afghanistan.

Cyclones Lam and Marcia both made landfall in Australia within the space of six hours on February 20, resulting in nearly 15,000 insurance claims as insured losses from Marcia alone reached USD69 million. Combined economic losses from the storms were preliminarily listed at USD312 million.

Meanwhile Tropical Storm Fundi brought torrential rain and strong winds to Madagascar, causing six fatalities and damaging almost 7,500 homes.

Flooding affected all six inhabited continents during February, with the costliest event occurring in Indonesia, killing six people. Total damages in Jakarta alone were listed at USD235 million.

Other flood damage and fatalities were noted in parts of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Turkey, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic.

A magnitude-5.2 earthquake struck China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on February 22, damaging at least 3,000 homes and causing economic losses in excess of USD15 million.

To view the full Impact Forecasting February 2015 Global Catastrophe Recap report, please follow the link:

http://bit.ly/1EO5t1Q

Along with the report, users can access current and historical natural catastrophe data and event analysis on Impact Forecasting's Catastrophe Insight website, which is updated bi-monthly as new data become available:

www.aonbenfield.com/catastropheinsight

Further information

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