16 Jul Global insured catastrophe losses reach $100B during first half of 2025
Anita Byer
The amount of global economic and insured catastrophe losses during the first half of 2025 has many concerned about another record-breaking year of losses. According to Aon’s Global Catastrophe Recap (First Half of 2025), economic losses reached $162 billion during the first six months of 2025, which is above the 21st century average of $141 billion. The $100 billion in insured losses is more than double the 21st century average of $41 billion. Unfortunately, more than 90 percent of the global insured losses occurred in the United States.
According to Aon, 24 of the 25 global events that resulted in economic losses of at least $1 billion occurred in the United States. Economic losses in the U.S. reached $126 billion, surpassing 1994 ($115 billion) as the costliest first six months on record. The above-average economic losses during the first half of 2025 were driven by California wildfires and severed convective storm (SCS) events. The only non-U.S. event making the list of the top five costliest events during the first half of 2025 is the Myanmar earthquake that occurred in late March.
The total insured losses during the first half of 2025 are estimated to be at least $100 billion, which is the second highest figure on record. The 21st-century average ($41 billion) and median ($37 billion) of the same period were substantially exceeded. According to Aon, this year-to-date total already places 2025 within the top eleven years costliest years.
The Global Catastrophe Recap also found that the recent trend of high severe convective storm activity in the United States continued during the first half of 2025. The $44 billion in SCS-related insured losses is the third highest on record. A significant portion of SCS-related insured losses were caused by two severe weather outbreaks across the Southeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic regions of country. According to Aon, the $8 billion in insured losses caused by each event places both events within the top five costliest SCS events in U.S. history.
Interestingly, the Global Catastrophe Recap found that the global insurance protection gap during the first half of 2025, which is the difference between insured and uninsured losses, is the lowest value on record. The protection gap shows how resilient societies and economies are to disasters. A big protection gap reflects less financial ability of economies to bounce back from disasters. According to Aon, this is primarily because most losses occurred in the United States, where insurance penetration is relatively high.