Perils pegs initial Éowyn insured loss at 619 million euros

By Rebecca Delaney

March 10 - (The Insurer) - Loss aggregator Perils has disclosed an initial industry loss estimate of 619 million euros ($670.5 million) for Storm Éowyn, which impacted the UK and Ireland on January 24 and 25.

As according to Perils' coverage definition for Europe, the loss number covers the property line of business.

Perils added that Éowyn’s impact on the insurance industry is "not unusual" from a European perspective, with windstorm event losses of this size occurring approximately once every year.

For the UK, Éowyn is the biggest windstorm loss since February 2022. However, for the Republic of Ireland, Éowyn marks the biggest windstorm loss for at least 45 years.

The UK Met Office recorded winds of more than 90 mph in Northern Ireland and in exposed locations in northern Wales.

As reported at the time, the Irish meteorological service, Met Éireann, confirmed that gusts of 114 mph at Mace Head in County Galway had set a new wind speed record for the country. The previous record had stood for 80 years.

“Two aspects of Éowyn’s impact are particularly striking. Firstly, despite its ferocity, the storm only caused two storm-related fatalities. This is likely thanks to the accurate and timely warnings issued by Met Éireann and the UK Met Office, respectively,” said Luzi Hitz, product manager at Perils.

“Secondly, Éowyn’s impact on the insurance industry remained comparably moderate, despite the size of the area impacted by the high winds. This is likely due to construction and roofing practices in the Republic of Ireland and the northern UK, both areas accustomed to frequent strong winds and as a result designed to withstand windstorm impacts of this level.”

An updated market loss estimate from Storm Éowyn will be published on April 25, three months after the event end date.

Last month, FBD estimated that Storm Éowyn and the heavy snow during the cold snap in January will cost the Irish P&C insurer around 30 million euros, marking the “single biggest storm” in FBD's history.