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In addition, some $21.5 billion of losses were uninsured, down
from $79 billion a year earlier.
Thunderstorms in the United States caused the most damage
overall, causing economic losses of $18.5 billion, of which
$13.5 billion was insured, Munich Re said in a review of
industry losses.
"The unusual atmospheric conditions in the USA in the first half
of 2017 provided the perfect conditions for powerful supercell
thunderstorms, which frequently bring major hailstorms and
tornadoes," Peter Hoeppe, head of Munich Re's Geo Risks
Research, said.
"The number of tornadoes observed in the first quarter of 2017
was twice as high as the average for the last 10 years."
The single costliest catastrophe was flooding in Peru in
February and March, which caused $3.1 billion in economic
losses, but only $380 million of that was covered by insurance.
Reinsurers act as a financial backstop to insurance companies,
paying a chunk of the big claims for storms or earthquakes in
exchange for part of the premium.
Lower claims payouts boost insurance industry profit but have a
downside for reinsurers, whose insurance company clients often
then demand lower prices for reinsurers' backing.
The review gave no claims figures for Munich Re itself. The
reinsurer is due to report second-quarter results on Aug. 9.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Madeline Chambers and
Susan Thomas)
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