Swiss Re Puts 2025 Insured Catastrophe Losses at $107 Billion, With Secondary Perils at a Record 92%

Global insured losses from natural catastrophes reached $107 billion in 2025, according to Swiss Re Institute's sigma report on natural catastrophes, sigma 1/2026. The total came from 190 qualifying events. So-called secondary perils, such as severe convective storms, wildfires and floods, accounted for a record 92% of insured losses, Swiss Re said. The Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025 were the largest single loss event of the year, with insured losses of about $40 billion.

The total for the year was below the long-term trend, largely because no major hurricane made landfall in the United States in 2025. Swiss Re projected insured natural catastrophe losses of $148 billion for 2026 under trend conditions, reflecting growth in exposure, urban expansion into risky areas, inflation in rebuilding costs and climate-related changes in hazards. In a peak loss scenario, such as a major hurricane striking a densely populated area, it estimated losses could reach $320 billion.

Insurers distinguish between primary perils, such as tropical cyclones and earthquakes, which can cause extremely large losses in a single event, and secondary perils, which are generally smaller but more frequent. Swiss Re and other insurers have pointed to several drivers of rising secondary peril losses. Utility wildfire liability has become a major concern for investors and regulators in the western United States. For energy companies, rising catastrophe losses feed into higher insurance premiums for power plants, transmission lines, refineries and offshore facilities.

Swiss Re also tracks the protection gap, the share of economic losses not covered by insurance. The reinsurance market, which insures the insurers, hardened sharply in 2023 after several years of high losses. Catastrophe bonds, which transfer risk to capital market investors, have grown to record levels. Severe convective storms are a growing concern for power networks as well as insurers. Because convective storms are local and frequent, their losses add up across many events rather than arriving in a single catastrophe. Insurers rely on catastrophe models to estimate expected losses and set prices.