Natural catastrophes in 2025: The persistent rise of wildfire and storm risk

This report presents an analysis of global natural catastrophe losses in 2025 and the drivers behind the persistent rise in disaster risk for insurance markets and societal resilience. Insured losses reached USD 107 billion, dominated by secondary perils—wildfires and severe convective storms—which accounted for a record 92%, following the Los Angeles wildfires that alone caused USD 40 billion in combined insured losses. Aimed at re/insurers, policymakers and risk-management practitioners, the study finds that exposure growth in high-risk zones explains more than 80% of weather-related loss growth, with hazard intensification driving North American wildfire and European convective-storm losses to grow twice as fast as exposure.

The report recommends an integrated approach pairing insurance coverage with sustained adaptation and mitigation to narrow protection gaps, which remain large at 80–90% uninsured in emerging economies and significant even in developed markets for earthquake and flood. It highlights evidence that targeted adaptation materially reduces losses, citing Fortified building standards, Switzerland's Sihl flood-relief tunnel and a 63% reduction in European flood losses since 1950. The authors stress that continued investment in catastrophe modelling of secondary perils and the continuous updating of building standards and exposure data are essential to maintain insurability.