$120 Billion Cost of Natural Disasters in the First Half of the Year

A Swiss reinsurance company estimated the economic losses from natural disasters worldwide at approximately $120 billion during the first half of this year. The estimates from "Swiss Re" indicated a slight decrease compared to the same period in 2022, when costs reached around $123 billion. A statement from the company, released on Wednesday, revealed that the compensation paid by insurance companies for damages caused by natural disasters saw a slight increase to $50 billion this year, compared to $48 billion last year. The most costly natural disaster was the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria in February, resulting in significant economic losses of $34 billion, with insurance companies bearing approximately $5.3 billion of that. However, the most burdensome events for insurance companies were severe storms, which cost them $35 billion, including $34 billion in the United States alone. This amount represented about 70 percent of the total compensation paid by insurance companies, according to the same source.