Late August Euro SCS and hail event “Raphaela” estimated near EUR 3.3bn industry loss: PERILS

The severe convective storm and hail outbreak across parts of western Europe between August 26th and 28th 2026 is initially estimated to have caused nearly EUR 3.3 billion of insurance industry losses, according to catastrophe data aggregator PERILS AG.

This severe convective storm (SCS) outbreak that drove significant hail impacts affected parts of France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy from August 26th to 28th 2026, in an event also known as “SCS Raphaela”.

A number of large European insurance carriers have noted the potential for meaningful losses from this outbreak of severe and convective storms, with the hail damages particularly impactful and driving significant claims volumes. The event is seen as one of the largest catastrophe insured loss events to ever hit Switzerland, where the hail damage was extreme.

PERILS initially estimates the insurance market loss, based on data collected from affected insurers, at EUR 3,296 million, with those losses coming from the property and motor lines of business.

A cold front sweeping from west to east across France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy resulted in extensive SCS activity, driven by a low-pressure system named “Raphaela” by the Free University of Berlin, PERILS explained.

The storm system interacted with warm and humid air masses from the preceding heat waves across Europe, leading to the formation of numerous SCS systems including supercell storms that produced large hail, destructive winds and intense rainfall.

The loss event started in western France on August 26th, before impacting central and eastern France on August 27th, and Switzerland, southern Germany and northern Italy on August 28th.

PERILS explained that, “Hail ranging in size from 4-8 cm in diameter was reported in all countries. In France, the region of Besançon in the east was particularly badly affected. In Switzerland, a hail swath stretching from Lake Geneva in the west to Lake Constance in the northeast caused significant damage, as well as impacting southern Germany. In Italy, the northern regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna were the most heavily affected, with hailstones of up to 13 cm in diameter recorded. The hailstorms were accompanied by very strong convective wind gusts and intense short-duration precipitation leading to flash flooding.

“There were no storm-related fatalities, but storm damage to property and cars was extensive. As a result, SCS Raphaela is one of the largest Cat losses on record for the Swiss insurance industry. For France, Italy and Germany, the industry losses were less exceptional and remained below the extreme levels experienced in recent years.”

Luzi Hitz, Product Manager at PERILS, added, “The Raphaela storms are the second SCS event in Europe in 2026 exceeding EUR 2bn in industry losses. Like the event in mid-July, they originated out of the preceding heatwave which provided ample thermal energy and humidity to support SCS formation. Both events underscore the destructive potential of European summer weather transitions. A primary contributing factor is the ever-warming atmosphere which generates increasing levels of ‘fuel’ for severe convective storms. As the climate looks unlikely to cool in the foreseeable future, the potential exists for multi-billion SCS events in Europe to become the new normal.”