Up from $48 billion in the same period a year earlier, the losses were the second highest since 2011, spurred by $34 billion in losses tied to the U.S. storms, the highest ever for a six-month period. Globally, severe convective storms, which can include thunder, lightening, heavy rain, strong winds and sudden changes in temperature caused losses of $35 billion, Swiss Re said. "With severe thunderstorms as the main driver for above-average insured losses in the first half of 2023, this secondary peril becomes one of the dominant global drivers of insured losses," Martin Bertogg, Head of Catastrophe Perils at Swiss Re, said. "The above‑average losses reaffirm a 5–7% annual growth trend in insured losses, driven by a warming climate but even more so, by rapidly growing economic values in urbanized settings, globally." During the same period, overall economic losses - which includes damage that is not insured - were $120 billion, down slightly from $123 billion in the prior-year period, but 46% above the 10-year average, Swiss Re said.

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Persons: Greenlee Beal, Martin Bertogg, Simon Jessop, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Global, reinsurer Swiss, Swiss Re, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Texas, San Antonio , Texas, U.S, United States