Windstorm Niklas recorded as costliest non-U.S. event in first quarter 2015
April 10,2015: A report by Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, was launched recently and evaluates the impact of natural disaster events that occurred worldwide during March 2015. The report reveals that Windstorms Mike and Niklas swept through western and central Europe at the end of March, killing at least nine people and causing widespread damage. Hurricane-force winds were noted in parts of Germany, the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, and Poland, with Germany sustaining the most significant damage.
Based on preliminary damage reports from each country and local insurers, it is expected that total economic and insured losses are each likely to exceed USD1 billion. Adam Podlaha, Head of Impact Forecasting, said: “The costly losses endured from windstorms Niklas and Mike further highlight the importance of using catastrophe models to forecast the peril in Europe. Impact Forecasting successfully released an event footprint within 48 hours of Niklas’ passage – expected to be the costliest non-U.S. event of Q1 2015 – which allowed our clients to quickly determine loss estimates while running the analysis using our ELEMENTS platform.”
After one of the quietest starts to the United States severe weather season in recent history, convective activity had increased by the end of March as two separate multi-day events caused widespread hail, straight-line wind, and tornado damage across parts of the Plains, Midwest and Southeast. Combined total economic and insured losses were anticipated to reach into the hundreds of millions (USD).
Severe winter weather again impacted the United States across regions of the Southwest, Rockies, Plains, South, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast, killing 13 people and causing widespread damage. Total economic losses were estimated at USD175 million, while insurers reported losses in excess of USD110 million.
Press Release