Zurich: Extreme weather and other natural and man-made disasters caused USD 113 billion in economic losses in 2014, reinsurer Swiss Re said Wednesday.
This is 16 percent less than the USD 135 billion in losses recorded in 2013 and significantly below the average annual figure of USD 188 billion for the previous 10 years.
Insurers covered USD 34 billion of the damage, down 24 percent from USD 45 billion in 2013, the company said.
About 11,000 people lost their lives from disaster events, down from more than 27,000 fatalities recorded last year.
Of the total economic losses recorded up to November 28, the bulk -- USD 106 billion of the USD 113 billion total -- was caused by natural catastrophes such as extreme weather.
The storms in the United States in early 2014 alone caused insured losses of USD 1.7 billion, while a spate of storms across the country in May cost another USD 2.9 billion.
Strong winds and heavy rains in Mexico brought by Hurricane Odile caused insured losses of USD 1.6 billion, while a wind and hail storm that struck parts of France, Germany and Belgium in June cost USD 2.7 billion.
Elsewhere, Swiss Re said it was too early to assess the losses caused by the dry summer in parts of China, which have affected agricultural output.
Likewise, it had no figures for the economic damage wrought by Typhoon Hagupit on the Philippines earlier this month, but said early estimates indicate it will be less than that caused by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
