Per. Aon Benfield's Economic Estimates: Sandy - $65 Billion; Drought - $35 Billion
The U.S. had the world's top two costliest natural disasters in 2012, according to a report released Thursday by global reinsurance firm Aon Benfield, based in London.
The largest global disasters of 2012 were Hurricane Sandy (with a cost of $65 billion) and the year-long Midwest/Plains drought ($35 billion), according to the company's Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report, which was prepared by Aon Benfield's Impact Forecasting division.
The $35 billion figure is one of the first estimates of the U.S. drought cost, which "comes from a combination of anticipated losses sustained by the agricultural sector and other factors such as business interruption," says Aon Benfield meteorologist and senior scientist Steve Bowen.
Sandy and the drought accounted for nearly half of the world's economic losses but, owing to higher levels of insurance coverage in the U.S., 67% of insured losses globally, the report states. 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 Bowen.
EDIT
http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/01/24/global-disaster-report-sandy-drought/1862201/
