catastrophe losses

US insurer Allstate has announced an estimated pre-tax catastrophe loss for the fourth quarter of 2025 of $209 million, which lifted the total for the current annual aggregate risk period for its catastrophe bonds to $2.757 billion while the run-rate of losses slowed in recent months.

According to global reinsurance company Munich Re, 2025 was the costliest year ever for insured losses from non-peak catastrophe perils, making up the bulk of the total as global insured natural disaster losses reached around US $108 billion.

Suncorp Group, the Australian primary insurance giant, has provided an update on its catastrophe and severe weather losses from the first-half of its financial year, having now gone well-over budget, but seemingly with only occurrence reinsurance to benefit the company, only one loss event is set to drive a recovery at this time.

Severe convective storms and hail across Queensland and New South Wales, Australia in late November is initially estimated to have resulted in an insurance industry loss of AU $2.663 billion (around US $1.78bn) by catastrophe data aggregator PERILS AG.

With 2025 marking the fifth consecutive year in which global catastrophe claims have exceeded $100 billion, analysts at J.P. Morgan emphasised that the impact on reinsurers has been less damaging, in the main because higher cedant retentions continue to shift a greater share of losses back to primary carriers.

For the sixth year running, 2025 will see over $100 billion of natural catastrophe losses covered by sources of insurance and reinsurance capital, according to Swiss Re’s Institute, with the research part of the reinsurer projecting a total of around US $107 billion for the year.

Catastrophe data aggregator PERILS has provided its first initial insurance industry loss estimate for the severe convective storms (SCS) that struck Australia’s East Coast in late October, at AU $1.108 billion (USD $736 million).

Insurance claims from recent days of severe storms and hail across Queensland and New South Wales in Australia are rising still, with this weather catastrophe set to be the most costly of the current financial year so far for the domestic market insurers.

Suncorp Group, the Australian primary insurance giant, looks set to make reinsurance recoveries to help it manage losses from the recent South East Queensland severe thunderstorms and hail, with the company saying the net cost is expected to be at its full reinsurance retention.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared an Insurance Catastrophe for the strong winds and damaging hail that affected South East Queensland between Sunday, November 23, and Monday, November 24, with the firm noting that insurers have already received more than 16,000 claims.