Verisk Estimates Insured Wind Losses for Storms Dudley/Ylenia and Eunice/Zeynep
BOSTON, Feb. 25, 2022 -- According to Verisk Extreme Event Solutions (formerly AIR Worldwide), insured losses due to wind from Winter Storms Dudley/Ylenia and Eunice/Zeynep will range between EUR 3 billion and EUR 5 billion, the majority of which are expected in Germany, UK, and the Netherlands. These estimates reflect wind damage from Dudley/Ylenia and Eunice/Zeynep to residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural properties, and automobiles.
The industry loss estimates also reflect an adjustment to account for increased material and other repair costs in the current construction market. Based on our analysis of the current market conditions in the UK and continental Europe, Verisk estimates losses could be 10–15% or more above the modeled results. This adjustment accounts for the increased cost of construction during 2021.
“After Storm Dudley/Ylenia menaced parts of the UK and Northern Europe February 16 and 17 with high winds, an even stronger Storm Eunice/Zeynep swept in to cause damage in the region February 18 to 20,” said Dr. Marc Marcella, principal scientist at Verisk.
Dr. Marcella continued, “In the wake of Dudley/Ylenia, Storm Eunice/Zeynep brought more high winds, leading to widespread reports of wind damage to homes and businesses in the UK and continental Europe, including roofs torn off. In addition, the roofs of an arena in London and another in the Hague were damaged severely. Extreme wind speeds in London are relatively rare. Transportation of all types, including hundreds of domestic and international flights and rail, and road travel, was disrupted in the UK and continental Europe.”
Damage due to coastal flooding was relatively insignificant for this event, although high water levels and storm surge inundation were experienced in several locations, in particular along the German North Sea coastline, and near river mouths, where surge levels approached 3 meters.
Although Storm Franklin/Antonia followed close behind, its effects were not as impactful as Eunice’s.
According to Verisk, the rapid succession of two or more low pressure systems within a short time frame is not an unusual event in Europe. While the clustering events Daria, Vivian, Wiebke (1990) and Anatol, Lothar, and Martin (1999) more than two decades ago are still the most prominent examples for clustering of extratropical cyclones in Europe, there have been some more recent clustering events that have affected Europe. For example, the storm clusters Elon and Felix or Mike and Niklas in 2015 and Draghi and Eberhard in 2019 occurred within less than 72 hours and caused significant insured losses across Europe.
Verisk’s modeled insured loss estimates include:
- Insured physical damage from wind to property (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and auto), including structures and their contents, as well as business interruption and additional living expenses (for the UK only)
Verisk’s modeled insured loss estimates do not include:
- Losses due to coastal or inland flooding
- Additional living expenses (ALE) for residential claims for all modeled countries, except the UK
- Losses to uninsured properties
- Losses to infrastructure
- Demand surge (Verisk’s demand surge function is not triggered by this event)
- Losses caused by Storm Franklin/Antonia
About Extreme Event Solutions at Verisk
Extreme event solutions at Verisk (formerly AIR Worldwide) provides risk modeling solutions that help individuals, businesses, and society become more resilient to extreme events. In 1987, Verisk founded the catastrophe modeling industry and today models the risk from natural catastrophes, supply chain disruptions, terrorism, pandemics, casualty catastrophes, and cyber incidents. Insurance, reinsurance, financial, corporate, and government clients rely on Verisk’s advanced science, software, and consulting services for catastrophe risk management, insurance-linked securities, longevity modeling, site-specific engineering analyses, and agricultural risk management. Verisk’s extreme event solutions team is headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, please visit www.air-worldwide.com. For more information about Verisk, a leading data analytics provider serving customers in insurance, energy and specialized markets, and financial services, please visit www.verisk.com.
