Catastrophe losses top $100 billion again, Swiss Re warns. The Swiss Re Institute estimates insured losses from natural catastrophes in 2025 at USD 107 billion, marking the sixth consecutive year that insured natural-catastrophe losses have exceeded the USD 100 billion threshold. That tally underlines that elevated catastrophe losses have become a persistent feature of the market rather than rare outliers.
The line figure conceals important detail: total economic losses in 2025 are estimated at USD 233 billion, while total insured losses across all perils are around USD 118 billion. Insured losses for 2025 were roughly 24% lower than the USD 141 billion recorded in 2024, but the sequence of high-loss years continues to reshape insurer strategy, pricing and public policy discussions.
Swiss Re’s 2025 snapshot: scale and trends
Swiss Re’s data show that 2025 was another heavy year for insurers worldwide, even if the insured bill was lower than 2024. The Institute’s USD 107 billion figure covers insured losses from natural catastrophes and reflects a market that has now crossed the USD 100 billion mark for six years in a row.
The picture also includes a substantial economic-insured loss gap: estimated total economic losses of USD 233 billion versus insured catastrophe losses of USD 107 billion, and USD 118 billion when counting all insured perils. Those gaps point to varying degrees of insurance penetration across regions and perils.
Swiss Re and other industry observers use 10-year averages and year-on-year comparisons to illustrate the new baseline for catastrophe risk. While 2025 was down about 24% from 2024’s insured losses, sustained high averages have consequences for capital allocation and long-term pricing.
United States concentration and the Los Angeles wildfires
The United States accounted for a dominant share of 2025 insured natural-catastrophe losses , about 83% of the global insured total, roughly USD 89 billion. Much of that concentration reflected a single, high-impact event: the Los Angeles wildfires (the Palisades / Eaton complex).
Swiss Re estimated the LA wildfires as the costliest wildfire event on record for insurers in 2025, with insured losses around USD 40 billion. Early market estimates varied , brokers and modelers such as Gallagher Re and CoreLogic produced different ranges , illustrating uncertainty in initial calculations and how industry loss picks settle over time.
The fires also had immediate profit and reserving impacts for carriers. Major insurers reported catastrophe-related charges and earnings pressure; for example, AIG cited wildfire losses as material to its Q1 results. The LA event drove half of the global H1 insured loss figure that Swiss Re reported earlier in the year.
Severe convective storms and a shifting peril mix
Severe convective storms (SCS) were another major driver of insured losses in 2025. Swiss Re reported insured SCS losses of USD 50 billion for the year, making 2025 the third-costliest SCS year on record after 2023 and 2024. Head Catastrophe Perils Balz Grollimund noted, “We are observing a steady rise in losses from severe convective storms.”
SCS events , damaging hail, tornado outbreaks and intense straight-line winds , produce frequent, often geographically dispersed losses that aggregate quickly for insurers. The elevated multi-year trend in SCS losses complicates modelling, underwriting and reinsurance purchasing for portfolios concentrated in exposed regions.
Insurers and reinsurers are increasingly factoring rising convective-storm risk into their models and capital plans. That includes raising prices for vulnerable property, tightening terms and integrating higher-frequency event scenarios into catastrophe stress testing.
Hurricanes, other perils and the moderation of some exposures
The 2025 North Atlantic hurricane season produced 13 named storms, five hurricanes and four major hurricanes, yet unusually none of the major systems made U.S. landfall. That pattern moderated U.S. hurricane insured losses: Hurricane Melissa was the costliest hurricane of 2025 with insured losses estimated up to USD 2.5 billion.
Globally, perils beyond wildfires and SCS contributed to the USD 107 billion insured natural-catastrophe total, but the U.S. concentration meant that single-country events dominated the final accounting. Swiss Re’s H1 update flagged USD 80 billion in insured losses through the first half of 2025, with California wildfires responsible for USD 40 billion of that figure.
The contrast between perils underscores how a few concentrated, high-severity events can shape an entire year’s insured loss outcome and influence reinsurance placements and capital market responses.
Market reaction: underwriting, reinsurance and capital
The persistence of large insured-loss years is prompting notable market moves. Insurers and reinsurers are tightening underwriting, increasing premiums and reassessing exposures in highly exposed geographies. Reuters and industry commentators note that some carriers are retreating from high-risk areas, creating potential coverage gaps for consumers and businesses.
Reinsurance and alternative-capital markets are also reacting: catastrophe bond structures, aggregate reinsurance placements and modelling assumptions are being reviewed and recalibrated. Specialist press coverage and market desks have documented how the LA wildfire milestone and the broader 2025 losses have influenced how risk is priced and transferred.
Those shifts have consequences for affordability and availability of cover. Higher premiums and restricted terms can reduce protection for vulnerable communities and increase the role of public policy in managing residual risk and promoting resilience.
Prevention, preparedness and policy imperatives
Swiss Re Group Chief Economist Jérôme Jean Haegeli urged that “strengthening prevention, protection and preparedness is essential to protect lives and property.” That sentiment reflects a growing industry consensus that risk reduction must go hand in hand with market solutions if losses are to be managed sustainably.
Policy interventions , from building codes and land-use planning to public investment in resilience , can reduce economic and insured losses over time. Insurers and public authorities are increasingly discussing hybrid solutions, including risk pools, resilience incentives and expanded insurance programmes to bridge protection gaps.
Market signals from sustained high-loss years are clear: without stronger resilience measures, insurers will continue to price, ration and withdraw in ways that could leave many exposures underinsured. That amplifies the need for coordinated action between industry, regulators and governments.
Swiss Re’s 2025 findings , USD 107 billion in insured natural-catastrophe losses, dominated by U.S. events and a record wildfire bill , underline a new normal where large annual catastrophe bills are expected rather than exceptional. The mix of perils, from convective storms to wildfires, means the insurance industry must adapt across underwriting, capital and policy engagement.
As markets adjust, the emphasis on resilience, improved risk modelling and public-private collaboration will only grow. Swiss Re’s call to strengthen prevention, protection and preparedness is both practical guidance and a reminder that limiting future catastrophe losses requires more than balance-sheet solutions.
