Weather & Science

Violent US Storms Have Racked Up Heavy Losses for Insurers in 2023

Severe thunderstorms in the US accounted for most insured losses globally in the first half of the year, according to reinsurer Swiss Re. 

A lightning bolt strikes behind Two Manhattan West and the skyline of midtown Manhattan during a thunderstorm in New York City on July 14, 2023.Photographer: Gary Hershorn/Corbis News
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Even before they pummeled the East Coast on Monday and left nearly half a million people without power, thunderstorms have demonstrated vast destructive power in the US this year.

Severe thunderstorms — the kind that come with lightning, hail and sharp changes in temperature — in the US accounted for nearly 70% of all insured global natural catastrophe losses in the first half of 2023, according to an annual midyear report from Swiss Re, the international reinsurance giant.