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Midwest derecho likely drives 2026 US storm losses above $35 billion
Gallagher Re estimates the derecho caused insurers losses in the single digit billions, with year to date US severe convective storm insured losses now exceeding last year’s pace.
Aon and Gallagher Re estimate that severe storms, including a derecho that struck the Midwest between August 9 and 12, likely produced insured losses in the single digit billions for US and Canadian carriers, according to Insurance Business.
Gallagher Re said the event pushed year to date US severe convective storm losses for both public and private insurance past $35 billion, continuing a run of billion dollar plus severe convective storm outbreaks in the US this year.
The August derecho swept from Iowa to Kentucky on August 11, bringing straight line winds near 90 mph across Chicago’s south suburbs and northwest Indiana, and generating 11 tornadoes including an EF-2 that reached peak winds of 115 mph and traveled more than 25 miles from Illinois into Indiana.
Aon said wind damage across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio was substantial, with more than 1.1 million power outages, torn off roofs and submerged vehicles, while towns in Indiana and Ohio faced enough rain and flooding to prompt states of emergency; it also cited a back to back storm pattern in Ottawa on August 10 and 12 that added to damage and outages. The article also highlights Illinois’s concentrated homeowners insurance market, noting State Farm Group wrote 33.68% of Illinois homeowners multiperil premium in 2025, based on BestLink data, which could concentrate claims activity among a small group of carriers.