Insured Property Loss from UK Storms Eva & Frank Estimated at $767.7M: PERILS

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The initial estimate of the insured property market loss for UK flood damage during the period from Dec. 25, 2015 to Jan. 14, is £526 million ($767.7 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization providing industry-wide catastrophe insurance data.

The loss estimate covers floods from storms Eva and Frank in December as well as from low pressure systems in early January 2016.

Windstorm losses for the same period are estimated to be in the low double-digit millions and are not part of PERILS’ flood loss estimate.

This loss estimate for the Eva-Frank floods is separate from and in addition to the market loss caused by the floods from storm Desmond (Dec. 4 to 24), which was estimated by PERILS in its first loss report at £717 million ($1.1 billion).

Storm Eva was identified and named by the UK Met Office / Met Éireann (the Irish meteorological service). The same depression system was named “Chuck” by the Free University of Berlin and “Staffan” by the Swedish Meteorological Institute.

Heavy rain following Eva affected the UK from Dec. 25 onwards. A subsequent storm system was named “Frank” by the UK Met Office / Met Éireann, and “Eckard” by the Free University of Berlin.

Heavy rainfall associated with Frank affected the UK from Dec. 29 onwards.

The record-breaking amount of rain falling on water-saturated ground led to extensive surface water and river flooding from Dec. 25, 2015 onwards. Peaks occurred during Dec. 26-27, Dec. 30-31, Jan. 4-5 and Jan. 8-9. The flooding mainly affected the counties of Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Yorkshire in the north of England, the councils of Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway in Southwest Scotland, and the councils of Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perth & Kinross in Northeast Scotland.

In line with the PERILS loss reporting schedule, the second flood loss report for Eva-Frank will be made available on March 25, 2016, and will be followed by a third loss report on June 25, 2016, which will contain loss data by CRESTA zone and by the property sub-lines residential and commercial.

Source: PERILS