Insurance companies Fewer catastrophe losses expected worldwide in 2025
Windstorms, thunderstorm fronts and forest fires will continue to cause billions in damage worldwide in 2025. However, according to estimates by the Swiss Re Institute, the loss burden was significantly lower than in the previous year and also below the ten-year average.
16.12.2025, 10:51
SDA
The year is not quite over yet, but a clear trend for 2025 is emerging in the catastrophe balance sheet. So far, catastrophes have resulted in economic losses of 233 billion US dollars worldwide, as the reinsurer Swiss Re announced on Tuesday. This was almost a third less than in the previous year.
The claims burden is therefore also 17 percent below the average for the years 2015 to 2024, according to data collected by the Swiss Re Institute. Of the total losses, an estimated 118 billion dollars were insured. This is a decrease of a good fifth compared to 2024.
On the hurricane front in particular, things remained fairly quiet in 2025. Hurricane Melissa had a significant impact with estimated insured losses of around 2.5 billion dollars.
The largest item on insurers' balance sheets was clearly the Los Angeles wildfires at the beginning of the year, at around 40 billion dollars.
