PERILS estimates Windstorm Goretti insured market loss of €467m

Catastrophe data aggregator PERILS has provided its first insurance industry loss estimate for extratropical European windstorm Goretti that affected southwestern England, northern France and Belgium on January 8th and January 9th, at EUR 467 million.

Based on data gathered from the majority of impacted insurers, PERILS’ initial estimate of the insurance market loss resulting from the windstorm covers the property and motor hull lines of business.

Goretti was a multi-faceted European winter storm that generated record-breaking wind gusts, high waves, and a combination of rain, snow and ice. The storm was named Goretti by Météo France and Elli by the Free University of Berlin.

“Meteorologically, it was characterised by explosive cyclogenesis and an atmospheric phenomenon known as “sting jet”. The latter led to very high winds in a narrow corridor which affected Cornwall at the southwestern tip of England, the Channel Islands, and the Manche and Calvados departments in northwestern France,” PERILS explained.

Adding: “A record gust of 213 km/h was measured at the Gatteville lighthouse on the tip of the Cotentin Peninsula in the Manche department.”

PERILS also indicated that Goretti’s impact was remarkable at a local level, yet not uncommon from a broader European viewpoint, where annual losses from windstorm events of this magnitude can be noted.

Nevertheless, Goretti represents the largest windstorm event loss in Europe to date so far for the 2025/26 season.

PERILS has confirmed that an updated estimate of the insurance market loss from Windstorm Goretti will be published on April 9th, 2026, three months after the event end date.

Luzi Hitz, Product Manager at PERILS, commented: “Windstorm Goretti was the first European windstorm event of the 2025/26 season to exceed our capturing threshold of EUR 300m for any one country or EUR 500m for a Europewide event. Its high-wind field covered practically the entire English Channel and affected the bordering regions.

“Except for Cornwall and the Channel Islands, the UK was largely spared from its impact. Had the storm track been further north, it would have been a much more impactful event with much higher losses. France, however, was not as fortunate with damaging winds affecting practically the entire northern half of the country.

“This is why the vast majority of the Goretti losses – close to 75% – occurred in France. In comparison, Belgium was only marginally impacted.”