Los Angeles Fires Fueled Over $100 Billion in US Insured Losses for 2025

Global insured losses of more than $127bn from natural disasters were dominated by more than $100bn occurring in the US in 2025 after the Los Angeles fires, according to a new industry report on climate and other extreme events. Overall global economic losses stemming from disasters, including thunderstorms and earthquakes, totalled about $260bn, according to the review by insurance broker Aon. But more than half of those losses remain not covered by insurance, highlighting the persistence of inadequate coverage in emerging markets, it said. “Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and unpredictable, affecting new geographies and sectors, and challenging long-held assumptions about resilience,” wrote Greg Case, Aon chief executive. “Weather exposures are rising,” he noted. Insured losses from climate disasters were 27 per cent higher than the long-term average since 2000, said Aon, emphasising the need for investment in resilience to reduce damage and revenue loss. Overall global economic losses due to disasters in 2025 were significantly lower than the 21st-century average, however. The year ranked as the tenth-costliest, on a price-inflated basis, after more “subdued” catastrophes in the second half of the year, the report said. This included a lack of hurricane landfalls in the US, typically a driver of costly damages. On a worldwide basis, however, severe convective storms, which include hail, thunderstorms and tornadoes, drove about $61bn in insured losses, the third highest on record. Over the past decade, insurers have grappled with the growing cost of climate risk, as global warming fuels more intense and frequent storms and other climate perils. Inflation has also added to the burden of disaster recovery, as materials used to repair buildings have become more costly, driving up claim values. The US in particular has become a big contributor to global insured losses owing to its more extensive insurance coverage and higher property values compared with poorer nations. It also reflects the country’s many assets in high-risk places, such as Texas, which have also seen increased migration and population growth post-pandemic. Lawsuits arising from climate-related disasters in the country have also become a rising cost for insurers — more than doubling over the past decade. Last year, the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles, which burned more than 40,000 acres and destroyed over 12,000 structures, were the two costliest disasters, totalling about $58bn in economic losses, said Aon. The number of people who died from natural catastrophes in 2025 was 42,000, according to Aon’s report, or more than 45 per cent lower than the 21st-century average. More than half of those deaths were due to heatwaves in Europe, which killed over 24,400 people over multiple summer heatwaves.