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H1 insured natural catastrophe losses total $46 billion, down 28%

Gallagher Re said the first half of 2025 was the lowest insured loss total since 2018, with 11 events causing more than $1 billion each.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Reinsurance

Reinsurance broker Gallagher Re estimated global insured losses from natural catastrophe events at $46 billion in the first half of 2026, down from $84 billion in the first half of 2025 and 28% below the 10-year average of $64 billion, per its H1 2026 Natural Catastrophe and Climate Report.

The report also found that the period marked a fifth straight quarter without any single insured cat loss exceeding $10 billion, and that just 11 events produced insured losses above $1 billion, versus an average of 16 over the prior decade.

Gallagher Re attributed $26 billion, or 57% of the insured cat loss total, to severe convective storms, saying the peril remained the costliest in North America. It noted economic losses fell to $142 billion in the first half of the year, 10% below the 10-year average of $158 billion.

Despite the below-average loss figures, Gallagher Re pointed to evolving risk signals, including early summer heat in Europe and the emergence of El Niño conditions during June. The broker cited forecasters’ 97.4% probability that 2026 will end among the five warmest years on record, and said El Niño typically shifts risk rather than removing it entirely.

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