Flood events accounted for $18.2 bn in international Q4 catastrophe losses, led by October floods in Valencia, Spain, according to Cresta. This marked the largest single insured loss event of the quarter.
CRESTA (Catastrophe Risk Evaluation and Standardizing Target Accumulations) is a global natural hazard risk categorization system for insurance and re-insurance companies.
Cresta estimates industry losses from the Spanish floods at $3.9 bn, the highest-ever catastrophe loss recorded for Spain’s insurance sector.
The Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (CCS), Spain’s government-run natural catastrophe insurance scheme, will cover most of the claims, Cresta noted.
According to Gallagher Re, southern Spain faced between $1.6 bn and $2.7 bn in insured losses from relentless rainfall and severe flooding in late October.
These losses include both public and private claims across residential, commercial, and industrial properties, as well as business interruption and infrastructure damages.
Cresta identified eight non-U.S. catastrophe events with insured losses exceeding $1 bn each. These included:
- January: Noto earthquake in Japan
- April: Dubai floods
- April-May: Rio Grande do Sul floods in Brazil
- May-June: Southern Germany floods
- August: Calgary hailstorm and ex-Hurricane Debby floods in Canada
- September: Central Europe floods
- October: Valencia floods in Spain
Two additional events—the April Hyogo hailstorms in Japan and Typhoon Yagi, which impacted China and Vietnam in September—reported losses just below the $1 bn threshold.
Cresta reported that the $18.2 bn in non-U.S. losses was slightly below the long-term indexed average of $19.9 bn. Floods accounted for 78% of the total losses, a notable shift compared to 2023, when severe convective storms drove the majority of claims.
Cresta highlighted that both floods and storms are linked to rising temperatures, with more atmospheric energy and moisture increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events.
Starting Jan. 1, Cresta’s CLIX service will be fully integrated into Perils AG’s product offerings.
Cresta was founded as a joint project of Swiss Reinsurance Company, Gerling-Konzern Globale Reinsurance Company, and Munich Reinsurance Company and is an independent group which promotes the accurate and efficient mapping and evaluation of catastrophe perils.
CRESTA has set itself the aim of establishing a globally uniform system for the accumulation risk control of natural hazards – particularly earthquakes, storms and floods.
Those risk zones are essentially based on the observed and expected seismic activity, as well as on other natural disasters, such as droughts, floods and storms.
CRESTA zones regard the distribution of insured values within a region or country for easier assessment of risks. CRESTA Zones are the essential basis for reinsurance negotiation and portfolio analysis. Since its creation, CRESTA sets widely accepted standards which apply throughout the international insurance industry.
CRESTA zone information is used by most insurers for assessing the insurance catastrophe premiums they will charge.
