Catastrophes will cost the global insurance industry $112 billion in 2021, the fourth-highest annual claims bill on record, Swiss Re AG's research division has estimated.

The losses are higher than 2020's total of $99 billion and the previous 10-year average of $86 billion, according to the Swiss Re Institute.

That figure includes $105 billion for natural catastrophes, the fourth-highest level since 1970. Swiss Re said the 2021 natural catastrophe bill continued the trend of an annual increase of 5% to 6% in recent decades.

Hurricane Ida was the most expensive natural disaster, costing insurers between $30 billion and $32 billion, the institute said. More than half the losses came from so-called secondary perils, including a devastating February winter storm in Texas that cost insurers $15 billion.

Secondary perils are those other than severe tropical storms and earthquakes, such as flooding, wildfires and convective storms.

Insured losses from human-made catastrophes were $7 billion in 2021, down from $10 billion in 2020 and below the 10-year average of $9 billion.

Economic losses from catastrophes came to $259 billion in 2020, higher than the previous 10-year average of $229 billion and 2020's $216 billion. Of the total economic losses, $250 billion stemmed from natural catastrophes; the remainder came from human-made disasters.