Europeans Lack Insurance Protection as Wildfires and Drought Batter the Region
Almost 90% of natural disaster-driven losses in Europe weren’t covered by insurance in the first half of 2023, according to Munich Re.
Greek firefighters battling to extinguish a wildfire in Saronida, a village south of Athens, Greece, in July 2023.
Photographer: Nick Paleologos/BloombergEuropeans are among the least insured against certain types of extreme weather and other natural disasters in the developed world, a predicament made more worrisome as the continent suffers a summer of devastating heat, wildfires and drought.
In recent months, wildfires have destroyed property in Greece, a lack of rainfall has ravaged tomato and strawberry production in Spain, and low water levels have disrupted shipping along the Rhine, one of the continent’s largest shipping arteries. The damage is taking a toll, as almost 90% of the natural disaster-driven losses in the first half of this year weren’t covered by insurance, according to Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers.
“We need to adapt to handle the consequences of global warming,” said Thomas Blunck, a management board member at Munich Re, in a statement. “This is starkly illustrated by the loss figures for the first half of 2023.”
Europe has been warming at a faster pace than the global average, and its poor standing on insurance protection was second only to Africa in the first half of the year. The Asia-Pacific region had 57% of its direct losses uninsured, compared with 24% in North America. Munich Re didn’t present data for South America. Globally, an average 61% of direct losses were uninsured in the first six months of 2023, which is similar to last year and a slight decrease from the 10-year average of 65%. Munich Re doesn’t include indirect losses in its calculations, such as the impact of a cyclone on tourism.