A host of severe weather events in the US last month cost insurers $2bn while natural disaster impacts in China caused an estimated $3.5bn worth of damage, Aon Benfield said today.
In its latest monthly Global catastrophe recap report, the reinsurer said a severe weather event involving baseball-sized hail in parts of Texas and New Mexico was expected to result in insured losses of over $1bn. More than 100,000 claims had already been filed by the end of June.
A separate hail event in Colorado and Wyoming caused more than £700m in insured losses, according to local sources, while at least 28 people were killed following a prolonged stretch of severe weather in central and eastern US states.
This weather included a violent derecho - a fast-moving, long-lived cluster of intense thunderstorms - which claimed at least 15 livers and resulted in more than 50,000 insurance claims.
Colorado experienced two major wildfires, including the Waldo Canyon Fire, which became the most damaging blaze in state history - killing at least two people, destroying 347 homes worth $110.2m in total and damaging another 50.
In China, June saw flooding in nearly 20 provinces which claimed more than 70 lives, damaged or destroyed 175,000 homes and caused an economic loss in excess of $3bn.
Further severe weather and multiple earthquakes caused additional fatalities and damage, with an economic loss of over $500m.
Extreme monsoonal rainfall in India and Bangladesh killed at least 232 and damaged or destroyed as many as 600,000 dwellings, while flooding was also recorded in Thailand, Taiwan, Afghanistan and the Philippines.
Separate instances of heavy rainfall in the UK resulted in flood damage to homes and other structures, while a 'rare' tornado struck Italy's Venice region and caused $12.6m in damage.
Meanwhile, Australia sustained severe weather in parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.
