Global economic losses from natural disasters in the first three quarters of 2025 reached approximately USD 203 billion, which was well below the 21st century average of USD 287 billion, and at their lowest since 2015, Aon said in its Global Catastrophe Recap – Third Quarter (Q3) of 2025 report, which aggregates and analyzes global natural catastrophe data during the first nine months of the year.
Despite the lack of major events, average Q1-Q3 insured losses still substantially exceeded the long-term average as a result of major payouts from wildfires and severe convective storm (SCS) activity. Global aggregated toll for the industry is estimated at approximately USD 114 billion, with expected updates and
loss development in the coming months. Nearly 90% of global insured losses occurred in the United States, the report says.
According to Aon, the global insurance protection gap remains very low at approximately 44%, as a result of major activity occurring in well-developed U.S. market. The highest uninsured losses occurred in Myanmar and the neighboring countries, as well as in China as a result of the seasonal flooding.
Natural disasters through the third quarter are estimated to have caused around 18,000 fatalities, primarily from earthquakes and heatwaves, with the deadliest individual event being the earthquake in Afghanistan on August 31. Despite these tragedies, the global death toll from natural disasters was 66% below the 21st-century average.
Aon data shows that severe convective storms (SCS) were the costliest peril during the nine months under review, causing USD 57 billion of global insured losses – the third highest SCS loss on record for the period. The Palisades Fire was the costliest single event, resulting in USD 32 billion in economic losses and USD 23 billion in insured losses, and contributing to total wildfire economic losses of more than USD 60 billion and insured losses of more than USD 40 billion.
According to Aon data, global reinsurance capital reached a new record of approximately USD 735 billion at June 30, 2025. Within this total, alternative capital reached a record USD 121 billion, with outstanding catastrophe bond volume rising to USD 54 billion – an almost 20% increase year-over-year.
“The record-low protection gap observed in the first nine months of 2025 highlights the growing role of insurance in helping communities recover from natural disasters. While this progress has been driven largely by high insurance penetration in the U.S., it underscores the opportunity to expand similar levels of protection globally. Achieving this requires continued investment in region- and peril-specific tools, collaboration with a broad range of capital providers, and partnerships with governments and other stakeholders to ensure that risk is effectively transferred and managed wherever it exists”, commented Michal Lorinc, head of Catastrophe Insight at Aon.
The full report can be found here.
