European convective storms in July estimated an almost EUR 2.2bn industry loss: PERILS

A wave of severe convective storms that swept across Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy in Europe between 13th and 19th July 2026 are estimated to have caused an insurance industry loss of EUR 2.186 billion, according to catastrophe data aggregator PERILS AG.

Notably, this outbreak of severe convective storms (SCS) across Europe is already the largest loss from that peril in Europe in the PERILS AG list of loss events.

It is also the largest insurance industry loss estimate for any European catastrophe event that PERILS has issued since the series of European windstorms in February 2022.

PERILS initial industry loss estimate for this SCS outbreak in Europe is EUR 2.186 billion, which is based on loss data collected from affected insurers and covers both property and motor lines of business.

During the event, cooler air from the northeast moved across the continent and its interaction with hot air from one of Europe’s heatwaves created perfect conditions for convective storm cells to form, PERILS said.

Large hail and high wind gusts were experienced, as well as extreme rainfall. Northern Germany was affected first on July 13th, after which the storms spread to affect southern Germany, France, Switzerland and northern Italy through July 19th.

PERILS explained that the main damages experienced were property impacts caused by high winds and flying debris, damage to vehicles and properties from large hailstones, and damage to cellars and basements from flash floods.

These kinds of SCS related damage impacts are broadly covered by insurance in Europe, hence the size of the industry loss, PERILS notes.

Luzi Hitz, Product Manager at PERILS, commented, “While multi-billion-euro SCS industry losses in Europe are not unheard of, the sheer magnitude of the loss is striking when the tally is calculated. Unlike floods, cyclones or earthquakes, SCS rarely make the international headlines as they are normally localised events. This could create a perception bias, potentially leading to an underestimation of the overall impact of SCS. It is therefore essential to collect loss data from major SCS outbreaks systematically to determine the true extent of these weather events.

“While the combination of large hail, high gusts, and torrential rain is typical for SCS events, what stood out about the mid-July 2026 event was its lengthy duration and geographical extent, and the intensity of the individual storm cells. These features are essentially driven by the steadily warming atmosphere, and therefore this will likely not be the last time we see a multi-billion SCS event in Europe.”

It’s worth also noting that additional severe convective storm related events affected parts of Europe in August. For example France was struck by storms and a rare, strong tornado, while Switzerland and Italy also suffered severe storms and damaging hail later in the month.

Recall that, there are a number of catastrophe bonds which carry some level of exposure to severe thunderstorm and convective storm events in Europe, as well as other private insurance-linked securities or collateralised reinsurance deals and sidecar structures.

At this stage it’s too early to know whether there could be any impact to any exposed ILS structures from this or the subsequent SCS events across Europe, but these losses help to drive home the fact this is a significant catastrophic peril for the insurance industry in the region, so use of the capital markets for reinsurance to protect their balance-sheets when outsized events might occur is sensible.