Global Insured Catastrophe Losses Hit $100 Billion in First Half of 2025: Aon Report

Global insured losses from natural catastrophes soared to an estimated $100 billion in the first half of 2025, marking the second-highest first-half total ever recorded, according to Aon’s Catastrophe Insight team. The sharp rise in losses was mainly driven by California wildfires and a series of severe convective storms (SCS) across the United States.

Aon’s figure surpasses the $84 billion estimate by Gallagher Re and shows a notable increase from $71 billion in H1 2024. The latest tally is also well above the 21st-century average of $41 billion, underscoring the growing financial toll of extreme weather events.

The United States accounted for over 90% of global insured losses, with 18 out of 19 events that exceeded $1 billion in insured losses occurring in the country. The only non-U.S. event to cross the billion-dollar mark was the European SCS outbreak in late June. Other significant events included Cyclone Alfred in Australia, with $900 million in insured losses, and Windstorm Éowyn in Ireland and the UK, which resulted in $690 million in damages.

Total economic losses globally reached at least $162 billion, also exceeding last year’s figure of $156 billion. The U.S. alone accounted for $126 billion of these losses, making it the costliest H1 on record for the region and surpassing the previous high of $115 billion in 1994.

Despite the high costs, the insurance protection gap—the difference between total economic losses and insured losses—narrowed to 38%, the lowest ever recorded. This improvement is largely attributed to high insurance penetration in the U.S., compared to global averages, which still hover around a 69% gap.

Although tropical cyclone activity was relatively quiet in the Atlantic basin during the first half of the year, forecasts indicate above-average storm activity for the remainder of the 2025 hurricane season.