According to a new report from Swiss Re Institute, whilst global insured losses in 2025, at US $107 billion, fell below the long-term natural catastrophe trend, secondary perils, including severe convective storms (SCS), wildfires, and floods, accounted for a record 92% of the total.
At the same time, 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.
Meanwhile, global 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.
Swiss Re Institute initially forecasted that insured catastrophe losses would total approximately US $107 billion for 2025, prior to the conclusion of last year.
Additionally, the firm had also earlier projected that severe convective storm (SCS) events globally would result in $50 billion in insured losses for 2025, a figure that, as previously noted, has now risen to $51 billion.
Moreover, earlier assessments from different organisations within the industry also show considerable variation.
Reinsurance broker Gallagher Re previously estimated that insured losses from natural catastrophes and severe weather events delivered a $129 billion annual bill to the insurance and reinsurance industry in 2025. This compares to Aon’s estimate of $127 billion, and Munich Re’s estimate of $108 billion.
Moreover, Swiss Re’s report also emphasised that 2025 was especially significant due to the lack of a major hurricane making landfall in the United States.
Nevertheless, the company points out that long-term global insurance losses resulting from natural catastrophes are still increasing at an annual rate of 5–7%, highlighting the necessity for ongoing adaptation and risk management to ensure insurability and minimise protection gaps.
Balz Grollimund, Head Catastrophe Perils, commented: “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 longterm levels, they would total USD 148 billion in 2026.
“According to our modelled peak-loss scenario, insured losses could even climb to about USD 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, said: “A peak loss scenario year could be more than double the recent annual insured natural catastrophe losses and exceed USD 300 billion. Further risk awareness, adaptation and mitigation, alongside sufficient insurance and reinsurance, play vital roles in societal resilience. We protect against peak risks by absorbing low-frequency, high-severity events that can quickly turn a quiet year into a record loss year.”
Furthermore, Swiss Re’s report also highlighted that total global economic losses from natural catastrophes were $220 billion in 2025, about 49% of which were insured, the highest share on sigma records. According to the firm this represents a clear indication that the insurance industry is playing its part in navigating global protection gaps.
“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,” the report said.
Jérôme Jean Haegeli, Head Swiss Re Institute and Group Chief Economist, added: “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.”
