Severe convective storms and wildfires have caused increasingly large insured losses over the past few years due to increased frequency and severity.

By: Matthew Lerner | July 12, 2021

A dramatic supercell over Lubbock, Texas in May of 2021. This storm previously produced a tornado and was beginning to weaken./ Reuters

While traditional windstorm catastrophe losses continue to be a major source of claims, the so-called secondary perils losses are reaching levels akin to moderate hurricane events, experts say.

Insurers continue to focus on loss prevention and risk engineering to combat the rising secondary peril losses but have also begun to make defensive moves.

Secondary perils caused $57.4 billion or 71% of worldwide insured losses from natural catastrophes in 2020, with the main drivers being severe convective storms and wildfires in the United States and Australia, according to a March report by Swiss Re Ltd.

From 1990 through 2020, aggregate U.S.… read more > “Sharp rise in lower tier catastrophe claims triggers policy changes, mitigation strategies”