Although global insured losses in 2025, at $107 billion, fell below the long-term natural catastrophe trend, secondary perils, including wildfires, severe convective storms (SCS) and floods, accounted for a record 92% of the total, according to a new report from Swiss Re Institute.
Contributing $40 billion to the 2025 total, the LA wildfires at the start of the year also represented the largest insured wildfire loss event on Swiss Re’s sigma records.
Severe convective storms also contributed significantly in 2025, ranking as the third-costliest year on record for SCS, after 2023 and 2024, and adding $51 billion to overall global insured losses.
By contrast, flood-related insured losses were well below average in 2025, at $3.4 billion compared to a previous five-year average of $15.4 billion.
The report also highlighted that 2025 was notable for the absence of a major US hurricane landfall.
Even so, long-term global insurance losses from natural catastrophes continue to grow at an annual rate of 5–7%, underscoring the need for sustained adaptation and risk mitigation to maintain insurability and reduce protection gaps.
Balz Grollimund, Head Catastrophe Perils, added, “The below-trend natural catastrophe losses seen in 2025 are the result of favourable variability rather than any easing of underlying risk.
“If losses return to normal long-term levels, they would total $148 billion in 2026. According to our modelled peak-loss scenario, insured losses could even climb to about $320 billion in 2026.
“As exposure keeps building, the upward trend in insured losses is structural and it is critical to identify the risk drivers behind this to manage and reduce risks before losses occur.”
Urs Baertschi, CEO Property & Casualty Reinsurance, commented, “A peak loss scenario year could be more than double the recent annual insured natural catastrophe losses and exceed $300 billion.
“Further risk awareness, adaptation and mitigation, alongside sufficient insurance and reinsurance, play vital roles in societal resilience. We protect against peak 2/3 risks by absorbing low-frequency, high-severity events that can quickly turn a quiet year into a record loss year.”
Jérôme Jean Haegeli, Head Swiss Re Institute and Group Chief Economist, said, “Most long-term loss growth comes from a simple reality: more valuable property is being built in harm’s way, and rebuilding costs have risen.
“At the same time, sigma analysis suggests that for some perils and regions, hazards and vulnerability are evolving faster than exposure alone would imply. As such, sustained and well-designed adaptation and risk mitigation measures are increasingly decisive to keep insurance viable and affordable – and to reduce the global protection gap represented by underinsurance.”
Total global economic losses from natural catastrophes were $220 billion in 2025, about 49% of which were insured, the highest share on sigma records and reportedly a “clear indication” that the insurance industry is playing its part in navigating global protection gaps.
Swiss Re’s report concluded, “However, protection gaps remain especially wide in emerging economies, where 80–90% of catastrophe losses are typically not covered by insurance, underscoring the need to pair stronger adaptation and risk management with broader, more accessible insurance coverage.”
