'Natural disasters caused $41b losses in first half'
Natural disasters caused total economic losses of $41 billion in the first six months of this year, much less than usual, reinsurance group Swiss Re estimated yesterday.
The figure released by the Zurich-based group -- which combines both insured and uninsured losses -- was down from $59 billion (45 billion euros) in the first half of 2013.
It was also about half the average first-half loss of the previous 10 years, which was $94 billion.
The insurance industry took a hit of $21 billion from disasters in the January to June period.
That was down from the $25 billion in payouts over the same period in 2013, and also below the $27 billion ten-year average.
The costliest disaster for the insurance sector was the thunderstorms and hail which hit the United States in mid-May, causing $3.2 billion in damage, of which $2.6 billion was insured.
Next came June's storms in France, Germany and Belgium, where losses reached $2.7 billion, with $2.5 billion of that covered by insurers.
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