catastrophe losses

Catastrophe data aggregator PERILS has published its third industry loss estimate from the severe convective storms (SCS) that struck Australia’s East Coast in late October, placing the insurance market loss at AU $1.501 billion (approx US $1.072bn), a slight decline from its second estimate that was published in February.

New data released by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows that the total cost of extreme weather events that impacted Australia throughout 2025 generated AUD $4.8 billion in insured losses in 2025, up 727% on the previous year, as claim numbers spiked to 294,000, of which over $4.1 billion came from Queensland alone.

In order for the current downward trajectory of pricing in property insurance and reinsurance to be meaningfully shifted broker Gallagher Re says that an anomalously high loss burden will be required.

Reinsurance broker Gallagher Re has estimated that total insured catastrophe losses for the opening quarter of 2026 reached at least US$20 billion, 26% lower than the decadal average of $26 billion, and 47% below the most recent 5-year average.

Broking giant Aon has estimated that global insured catastrophe losses amounted to at least $20 billion in the first quarter of 2026, 6% above the 21st-century average, which came off the back of an economic toll of $37 billion, down sharply from $113 billion in the same period of 2025.

According to a recent paper by Karen Clark & Company (KCC), the catastrophe risk modeller, a 100-year return period hurricane has the potential to generate more than $100 billion in insured losses in New York.

Catastrophe data aggregator PERILS has published its second industry loss estimate for the Victoria Bushfires which took place during the period of January 7th to 13th, 2026, placing the insurance market loss at AU$810 million.

Catastrophe data aggregator PERILS has published its second industry loss estimate for extratropical windstorm Goretti, also known as Elli, that affected southwestern England, northern France and Belgium in early January, placing the insurance market loss at EUR 479 million.

CatIQ, Canada’s insured loss and exposure index provider, has issued its fifth and final industry loss estimate from the ice storm that struck Ontario and Quebec in late March 2025, putting the insured market loss at CAD $466 million, a 5% decrease from its fourth loss estimate of CAD $490 million that was issued in September.

Extratropical windstorm Nils, also known as Ulrike, battered the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions in southwest France in mid-February, causing insurance industry losses of €586 million, according to an initial estimate from catastrophe data aggregator, PERILS.