Large-scale weather events in the U.S. dominated insurancelosses in 2012, pushing global insured claims for the year to $77billion, says a report from Swiss Re.

The year was the third most expensive on record with respect toinsured losses, but was significantly lower than the highest everrecorded—which was 2011—when record earthquakes and flooding in theAsia Pacific region caused insured losses of $126 billion.

Swiss Re says 9 of the 10 most expensive insured-loss events in2012 were in the U.S., where insurers picked up $65 billion of the$119 billion in economic losses for the year.

The most expensive event last year was Superstorm Sandy, withSwiss Re estimating insured losses of $35 billion. Swiss Re saysthe private market covered $20 to $25 billion of the loss, whilethe National Flood Insurance Program incurred the remainder of theloss.

In terms of economic loss, Swiss Re says Sandy is the secondmost expensive wind event on record at $70 billion. HurricaneKatrina in 2005 still tops the list at more than $100billion.

Agricultural losses due to record heat and extremely dry weatherconditions in the U.S. led to one of the worst droughts in history.Crop failures in the U.S. Corn Belt translated into insuredagricultural losses of $11 billion. The 2012 drought was thehighest ever crop-insurance loss ever recorded.

The remaining seven U.S. insured loss events were primarilysevere storms and tornadoes. Hurricane Isaac, which formed in lateAugust striking Southern Florida before moving into Louisiana andMississippi, accounted for $1.6 billion in insured losses.

Among the top 10 global insurance-loss events for 2012 was a 5.9magnitude earthquake struck Italy in May, costing carriers $1.6billion, the highest ever recorded in that nation. Total economicloss from the earthquake was $16 billion.

Striking a note of caution about future loss events caused byclimate change, Swiss Re’s Group Underwriting Officer MatthiasWeber says Sandy’s immense size was a challenge for theindustry.

“The possibility that such events could increase in frequencyand strike densely populated regions such as the northeast U.S.means that extreme storm-surges need to be more thoroughlyunderstood,” he says.

A simulation exercise presented in the Swiss Re sigmastudy shows that a 10-inch increase in sea levels by 2050 woulddouble the probability of extreme flood losses. For insurers, thiswould mean a $20 billion insured-loss event, now expected once in250 years, could occur once in 140 years.

Swiss Re says on the whole, economic loss from man-made andnatural catastrophes throughout the world amount to $186 billionwith approximately 14,000 lives lost.