LATE JUNE STORMS IN US TO COST RE/INSURERS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS

Re/insurers are likely to see hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from a series of storms, including a rare derecho event, that swept across the eastern half of the US from June 21 to 24, Aon has said. The string of storms began with the derecho – a long line of severe thunderstorms also known as an inland hurricane – that stretched from Kansas to South Carolina. With wind gusts of up to 80 mph, the derecho was the most damaging of the late June storms. It was followed by several clusters of thunderstorms that brought hail, high winds, flash flooding and tornadoes across the Midwest and southeastern states. One of those storms generated an EF-2 tornado with 125 mph winds that touched in South Bend, Indiana on June 23.