Insured catastrophe losses surpass $100bn in 2026. No longer enough to move the needle: Bowen, Gallagher Re

Global insured catastrophe losses have now surpassed the $100 billion level in 2026, according to Steve Bowen, Chief Science Officer at reinsurance broker Gallagher Re. This marks the 10th consecutive year in which the threshold has been exceeded on an inflation-adjusted basis, and the seventh consecutive year on a nominal basis.

Gallagher Re recently reported that natural catastrophe insured losses had reached $92 billion between January and September 2026, marking the lowest total for the first nine months of the year since 2019, and 29% below the 10-year average of $128 billion.

Insured catastrophe losses in 2025 reached the $100 billion threshold by September. Once again, in 2026 the industry has experienced the $100 billion of insured catastrophe loss total in advance of the end of the year.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Bowen explained that the industry has seen a dramatic shift in how the global insurance market reacts to annual losses exceeding $100 billion.

“A decade ago, this was a huge deal. Today, it is notable, but no longer enough on its own to move the needle,” Bowen said.

He continued: “The industry has learned important lessons from some difficult and highly impactful loss years. Better risk management, stronger capital positions, improved modeling, and more disciplined pricing have left the market in a much stronger position to absorb these higher loss costs.”

The Chief Science Officer importantly turned attention to how the market will react when annual insured losses surpass $200 billion on a nominal basis for the first time

In fact, with the most recent five-year nominal average standing at roughly $150 billion, losses reaching $200 billion increasingly looks like a matter of when, rather than if.

All of which makes the build-up of industry capital and capacity increasingly more important. Along with further innovation in resilience and risk transfer, as protection gaps across the globe increasingly continue to expand.

Also as the frequency and severity of secondary perils continues to rise, especially severe convective storms, pressure on the re/insurance industry will only intensify. All of which should turn more companies towards the capital markets to obtain efficient protection.

Bowen concludes: “Climate risk cannot simply be viewed through the lens of expected insured losses. The societal implications are much broader. The countries and communities most vulnerable to climate risk are often those with the fewest resources available to protect themselves ahead of time or recover in the aftermath.

“The insurance and broader financial sectors have an important role to play. That means not only working to narrow the protection gap, but helping build greater climate resilience through new funding mechanisms, innovative risk-transfer solutions, better risk assessment information, and greater investment in adaptation.

“A more resilient insurance industry matters. But, ultimately, the bigger challenge is helping build a more resilient society.”