Severe convective storms (SCS) have surpassed tropical cyclones to become the costliest insured peril of the 21st century, according to Aon plc. Total economic losses reached $260 billion — 23% below the 21st-century average and the lowest since 2015, said Aon’s 2026 Climate and Catastrophe Insight report. (Economic losses include insured loss claims). “Yet beneath this quieter surface, the year told a very different story,” Aon cautioned. “Insure d losses reached $127 billion, 27% above the long-term average, a reminder that even in a below-average hazard year, the concentration and severity of certain events can reshape the global loss picture.” In comments accompanying the report, Aon said this divergence shows how high‑severity frequency-peril events — particularly in the U.S. — drive substantial insurance claims. “While insured losses declined slightly from 2024, the long-term trend is clear: Weather exposures are rising,” commented Aon CEO Greg Case, in a forward to the report. Indeed, 2025 marked the sixth consecutive year that insurance payouts exceeded $100 billion. In contrast to the active first half, losses from catastrophe activity were subdued during th e third quarter of the year and were about 25% below average in the fourth quarter, Aon added. “The lack of hurricane landfalls in the U.S. and a general pause in Atlantic storm activity during the climatological peak of the season were among the crucial factors.” The global insurance protection gap narrowed to 51%, the lowest on record, Aon said, noting that this improvement was largely due to the concentration of losses in the U.S., which had 81% of global insured losses as a result of the market’s high insurance penetration. (The protection gap is the difference between economic losses from a natural disaster and the amount covered by insurance).

 Severe convective storms (SCS) have surpassed tropical cyclones to become the costliest insured peril of the 21st century, according to Aon plc.

Total economic losses reached $260 billion — 23% below the 21st-century average and the lowest since 2015, said Aon’s 2026 Climate and Catastrophe Insight report. (Economic losses include insured loss claims).

“Yet beneath this quieter surface, the year told a very different story,” Aon cautioned. “Insure

d losses reached $127 billion, 27% above the long-term average, a reminder that even in a below-average hazard year, the concentration and severity of certain events can reshape the global loss picture.”

In comments accompanying the report, Aon said this divergence shows how high‑severity frequency-peril events — particularly in the U.S. — drive substantial insurance claims.

“While insured losses declined slightly from 2024, the long-term trend is clear: Weather exposures are rising,” commented Aon CEO Greg Case, in a forward to the report.

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Indeed, 2025 marked the sixth consecutive year that insurance payouts exceeded $100 billion.

In contrast to the active first half, losses from catastrophe activity were subdued during th

e third quarter of the year and were about 25% below average in the fourth quarter, Aon added. “The lack of hurricane landfalls in the U.S. and a general pause in Atlantic storm activity during the climatological peak of the season were among the crucial factors.”

The global insurance protection gap narrowed to 51%, the lowest on record, Aon said, noting that this improvement was largely due to the concentration of losses in the U.S., which had 81% of global insured losses as a result of the market’s high insurance penetration. (The protection gap is the difference between economic losses from a natural disaster and the amount covered by insurance).