This year has seen the highest-ever half-year economic loss recorded, exceeding the previous record year of 2005, according to Munich Re.

The reinsurer estimates economic losses for this year at about $US265 billion ($246 billion), well above the 2005 total of $US220 billion ($204 billon).

Total losses for this half year are estimated to be more than five times higher than the first-half average for the past 10 years.

The insured losses, about $US60 billion ($55.8 billion), were also nearly five times greater than the average since 2001.

But the total number of events from natural catastrophes in the first six months of this year was 355, below the average (390) for the previous 10 years.

Munich Re Board Member Torsten Jeworrek says first-half losses are normally lower than the remaining six months of the year due to the lack of hurricanes and tornadoes in North America and the northwest Pacific.

But this year during April and May the southern and midwest US states were hit by several exceptionally severe tornadoes causing about $US15 billion ($13.9 billion) of economic losses and $US10 billion ($9.3 billion) of insured losses.

“It is very rare for such an extreme accumulation of natural hazard events to be encountered in the first half year,” Mr Jeworrek said.

“The accumulation of so many severe events of this type in such a short period is unusual, but is also considered in our scenario calculations.”

The biggest loss in the half year was the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, which Munich Re estimates is a $US210 billion ($195 billion) economic loss.

This event was more expensive than Hurricane Katrina’s economic loss of $US125 billion ($116 billion), but the current estimate of Japan’s $US30 billion ($27.9 billion) insured loss will be less than the total insurance bill for the 2005 US disaster.