Combined cost of winter storms and extreme cold lead to billion-dollar damage in the U.S. – Aon catastrophe report
CHICAGO, February 7, 2019 – Aon plc (NYSE:AON), a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, today launches its Global Catastrophe Recap – January 2019. This evaluates the impact of global natural disaster events to identify trends, manage volatility and enhance resilience.
The report reveals that multiple winter storms and extreme cold led to 45 fatalities and a billion-dollar economic cost in the United States. A wind chill temperature of -54°C (-65°F) was recorded in the U.S. Midwest in late January following an extreme outbreak of Arctic air.
Excessive rainfall caused significant damage to the agricultural sector, and additionally to property and infrastructure in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. The Confederation of Rural Associations of Argentina estimated agricultural damage alone at USD2.3 billion.
Australia recorded its hottest month on record - 30°C (86°F) - in January since data began being kept in 1910. Less than normal precipitation only enhanced the ongoing severe drought. At the same time, Northern Queensland was hit by severe flooding. The Insurance Council of Australia cited more than 6,525 claims with payouts nearing AUD80 million (USD57 million), though this figure was expected to rise. Overall economic damage will be substantially higher.
Michal Lörinc, Catastrophe Analyst at Aon’s Impact Forecasting, commented: “While there was much focus on multiple winter storms and extreme cold via the Polar Vortex in the United States, it allowed an opportunity to remind that weather is local. Australia, for example, experienced the opposite in the form of record-breaking heat. In fact, January 2019 was proclaimed the hottest month on record for the country. Shifts in the behavior of the jet stream and other synoptic features can lead to more unusual and extreme weather phenomena.”
Other key events included:
- 80 fatalities resulting from seasonal flooding in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi
- The first F4 tornado since 1940 touched down near Havana, Cuba
- Unusually heavy snowfall hit Central Europe on January 1-14, causing substantial damage and deadly avalanches.
- Heavy rainfall in northwest Spain on January 23-24 resulted in flooding and landslides.
- Torrential rainfall in northern and western Saudi Arabia caused notable flooding
For more context on 2018’s catastrophes, discover further insights on Aon’s interactive microsite:
https://aon.io/2M1Rm1w
Further information
For further information please contact the Reinsurance Solutions team: Andrew Wragg David Bogg or Alexandra Lewis(+44 207 086 0541)
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Notes to Editors
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve performance.
Aon announced in May 2018 it will retire the business unit brands of Aon Benfield and Aon Risk Solutions, which follows the retirement of the Aon Hewitt business unit brand in 2017. This move was designed to increase the rate of innovation across the firm and make it easier for colleagues to work together to bring the best of Aon to clients. Aon has five specific global solution lines: Commercial Risk Solutions, Reinsurance Solutions, Retirement Solutions, Health Solutions and Data & Analytic Services.
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