Global economic losses from natural disasters fell 25% below average to $111bn, but insured cat losses remained broadly in line with historical levels as US severe convective storms dominated the industry toll
Global catastrophe losses remained moderate during the first half of 2026, although the headline figures concealed record-setting events and significant regional concentrations of risk, according to Aon.
The broker’s “Global Catastrophe Recap: First Half of 2026” estimated global economic losses from natural disasters at $111bn, 25% below the 21st-century average of $149bn and the lowest first-half total since 2018.
Insured losses reached approximately $47bn, broadly in line with the long-term average of $46bn, while the global protection gap stood at 57%.
The six-month period produced some 23 billion-dollar economic loss events, matching the historical average, and 13 billion-dollar insured loss events, compared with an average of ten.
Michal Lörinc, head of catastrophe insight at Aon, said: “There were no exceptional losses on the industry level in terms of the insurance and reinsurance industry, but we’ve seen some regional and peril-specific contrasts.”
Severe convective storms were the costliest peril, generating approximately $40bn in economic losses and $31bn in insured losses globally.
US natural catastrophes accounted for approximately $36bn, or 77%, of global insured losses, with severe convective storms and winter weather collectively responsible for more than 70% of the worldwide industry total.
Insured losses from US severe convective storms reached around $27bn, well below the more than $40bn recorded during the first halves of each year between 2023 and 2025.
However, Illinois recorded 178 tornadoes by mid-year, approximately four times its long-term average, while Illinois and Indiana both established new annual tornado records.
The largest insured cat event was the US severe convective storm outbreak between 23 and 29 April, which generated losses of approximately $5.3bn.
Other major events included the Venezuela earthquakes, which caused preliminary economic losses of between $20bn and $30bn, and Windstorm Kristin, which became Portugal’s costliest event on record with economic losses of $4.4bn.
Typhoon Sinlaku caused approximately $1.6bn in economic losses after affecting the Northern Mariana Islands, while European storms and floods generated further multi-billion-dollar impacts.
The period also demonstrated the human consequences of catastrophe events that are not always captured by traditional insurance metrics.
At least 16,200 people died in natural disasters during the first half, with the Venezuela earthquakes and European heatwaves accounting for much of the toll.
Capital supports competitive 1/1
Tracy Hatlestad, global head of property for Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions, indicated that reinsurance capital stood at approximately $790bn at the end of the first quarter.
She said: “That capital base, coupled with manageable to low ceded loss catastrophe activity, created an even more intense competitive environment for spring and summer renewals throughout the first half of 2026.”
Buyers increased their purchases of limit, frequency protection and aggregate coverage, while third-party capital had grown from the low teens as a proportion of industry capital a decade ago to nearly 20%.
Hatlestad suggested the alternative capital market had “moved from a supplemental source of capital to a core source of consideration for capital protection and capacity by insurance companies”.
Florida insurers generated between $5bn and $7bn of additional reinsurance demand, contributing to what she described as one of the most positive renewal seasons in the state for more than a decade.
Frequency perils
Dan Hartung, global head of event response for Aon’s Risk Capital business, said the dominance of frequency perils (otherwise known as non-peak or secondary) had reinforced the need for better exposure data and portfolio-specific analysis.
“Analytics is no longer there to play just a supporting function, but rather it’s that necessary bridge between the different weather and climate loss patterns that we’re seeing and the insight required to manage a business through volatility,” Hartung said.
A potential strong El Niño could suppress overall North Atlantic hurricane activity while increasing tropical cyclone activity in parts of the Pacific and affecting drought, flood, wildfire and heat risk across multiple regions.
Hartung warned that a subdued seasonal forecast did not remove the possibility of a major landfall.
“It’s not necessarily the basin-wide forecast that’s important, as it is managing to the outsized potential of that one single event,” he added.
The full report (front cover snip image used above) is available here: Global-Catastrophe-Report-
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