The U.S. suffered two of the largest, costliest disasters in the world in 2012, according to a recently released report by global reinsurance firm Aon Benfield, London. Hurricane Sandy was tops, at a cost of $65 billion, and the year-long Midwest/Plains drought cost about $35 billion.
The company's “Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report,” prepared by its Impact Forecasting division, states that Sandy and the drought accrued about half of the world's economic losses. Total economic losses include the entire cost of an event, while insured losses are the amount of economic losses that are covered by insurance, says Aon Benfield meteorologist and senior scientist Steve Bowen.