(Swissre) - Swiss Re's latest study reveals that natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2012 caused economic losses of USD 186 billion and approximately 14,000 lives.

Sandy storm damage (Photo: mydailynews.com)

Large scale weather events in the US pushed total insurance claims for the year to USD 77 billion, making 2012 the third most expensive year on record. Hurricane Sandy was the most expensive event of the year, both in terms of economic and insured losses. It caused an estimated total of USD 70 billion in economic losses, forcing insurers to pay half of that amount and making it the second most damaging hurricane on record after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A rare and relatively weak series of earthquake shocks in the north of Italy made 2012 the year suffering the heaviest losses due to natural disasters.