Insurance

Global Insured Catastrophe Losses

Insured catastrophe losses, the share of disaster damage insurers actually pay (vs total economic loss), 2010-2025 in $B. 2024 was the 4th-costliest at ~$140B.
Updated at 2026-05-10

Cat Losses by Region

Annual insured catastrophe losses by region, 2015-2025 ($B). North America runs 60-75% of the global total on high insurance penetration and coastal/wildfire exposure.
Updated at 2026-05-10

Top 10 Cat Events: 2024-2025

The 10 single events that drove the most insured losses globally in 2024-2025. Hurricane Milton (~$30B) and the combined Palisades + Eaton LA wildfires (~$25B) topped the list, making Jan 2025 the costliest wildfire event in history.
#EventPerilRegionDateInsured ($B)Economic ($B)Notes
1Hurricane MiltonHurricaneUS (FL)Oct 2024$30.0B$50.0BCat 3 landfall Siesta Key; industry estimates $25-35B insured (Aon: $30B; Karen Clark: $36B; CoreLogic: $19-26B).
2Palisades WildfireWildfireUS (Los Angeles, CA)Jan 2025$15.0B$65.0BPacific Palisades community; ~6,800 structures destroyed. Industry estimates $12-18B insured.
3Hurricane HeleneHurricane / FloodUS (FL, GA, NC, TN)Sep 2024$12.0B$80.0BCatastrophic inland flooding in WNC; large protection gap (most was uninsured flood). Insured loss $10-15B.
4Eaton WildfireWildfireUS (Altadena, CA)Jan 2025$10.0B$35.0B~9,400 structures destroyed in Altadena/Pasadena; SCE wires under investigation.
5US Severe Convective Storms (Q2)SCS / Hail / TornadoUS (Midwest, Plains)Apr-Jun 2024$9.0B$14.0BMultiple hail outbreaks in TX/OK; April Texas hail event $5B insured alone.
9US Q1 2025 SCS / Texas HailSCS / HailUS (TX, OK, AR)Mar-May 2025$7.5B$11.0BMultiple hail outbreaks; Dallas-Fort Worth area worst hit.
6CEE Floods (Boris)FloodCentral/Eastern Europe (PL, CZ, AT)Sep 2024$5.0B$22.0BStorm Boris; second-largest EU flood since Bernd 2021.
7Spain DANA / Valencia FloodsFloodSpain (Valencia)Oct 2024$4.5B$12.0BConsorcio de Compensacion de Seguros covered bulk; ~230 fatalities.
8Noto Peninsula EarthquakeEarthquakeJapan (Ishikawa)Jan 2024$4.0B$18.0BM7.6; modest insured share given limited EQ penetration outside fire policies.
10Typhoon YagiTyphoonVietnam / Philippines / ChinaSep 2024$2.0B$14.0BStrongest typhoon to hit Vietnam in decades; significant insured loss in Hainan/southern China.
Updated at 2026-05-10

US Coverage Retreat: Carrier Exits

Major US homeowners-insurance retreats, 2022-2026: non-renewals (dropping existing customers) and full state exits where carriers stop writing policies.
CarrierStateActionDatePoliciesNotes
California FAIR PlanCaliforniaGrowth as last-resortThrough 2025555KDoubled from 268K policies in 2019 to 555K by Q4 2024. Exposure topped $573B. Post-LA fires assessment triggered.
Citizens Property (state insurer)FloridaGrowth as last-resortThrough 20241.38MPeaked at 1.41M policies Q3 2023 (vs 420K in 2019). Took on the policies private carriers shed. Depopulation efforts brought count to ~870K by year-end 2024.
AllstateCaliforniaNew business pauseNov 2022-Paused new homeowners and commercial applications statewide; resumed with rate increases 2024.
Bankers InsuranceFloridaInsolvency / exitMay 202433KOrdered into receivership; ~33K policies transferred to Florida Insurance Guaranty Association.
State Farm GeneralCaliforniaNew business haltMay 2023-Stopped accepting new HO, BO, and commercial apartment applications. Existing policies unaffected at that time.
State Farm GeneralCaliforniaNon-renewalMar 202472KNon-renewed 72K policies (30K HO3, 42K commercial/apartment) on top of May 2023 new-business halt. Cited reinsurance costs and wildfire exposure.
Farmers InsuranceFloridaFull state exitJul 2023100KWithdrew Farmers-branded auto/home/umbrella from FL; ~100K policies non-renewed. Foremost/Bristol West stayed.
AAA / Auto ClubFloridaPartial non-renewalJul 202370KNon-renewed ~70K higher-risk homeowners policies in coastal counties.
GeicoCaliforniaBranch office closureJul 2022-Closed all 38 California sales offices; transitioned to phone/online-only. Continued writing auto but throttled new policies.
HartfordCaliforniaNon-renewalFeb 202414KFiled plan to non-renew 14K AARP-branded HO policies in CA wildfire zones.
ProgressiveFloridaThrottle / pullbackAug 2023115KDid not renew ~115K coastal HO policies through Progressive Home; reduced exposure to wind-prone counties.
Liberty Mutual / SafecoFloridaNew business haltAug 2022-Stopped writing new HO3 policies in FL; continued auto.
USAALouisianaCoastal pullback2023-202417KNon-renewed ~17K HO policies in coastal LA parishes following Ida/Laura/Delta losses.
AIG (Private Client Group)CaliforniaLuxury home non-renewal2022-20239KBegan trimming high-net-worth book in CA wildfire-zone ZIPs; ceded select policies to PURE/Chubb.
Updated at 2026-05-10

Ask Sterling

Register for a premium account to gain access to Sterling AI.

Get Started

Things you can ask Sterling:

Summarize Tesla's latest earnings reportWhy did NVIDIA's margins expand?Compare Apple vs Microsoft's cash flowWhat's driving the EV sector growth?
Insurance - Climate | Sterling