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Insurance Handbook

Key Facts

According to the Aon 2024 Climate and Catastrophe Insight:

  • For the first time since 2016, no insured losses from any single global event exceeded $10 billion in 2023, according to Aon’s most recent Climate and Catastrophe report. The frequency of events above $1 billion reached 37, breaking the record of 30 set in 2020. This year's trend was primarily due to severe convective storm activity in the United States and Europe.
  • In the United States, there were 89 natural catastrophe loss events in 2023, resulting in 430 fatalities.

World Insurance Losses

Natural catastrophes

Top 10 Costliest World Natural Disasters by Insured Losses, 2024 (1)

(US$ billions)

Rank Date Country/region Event Insured loss (2)
1 Oct. 8-11 U.S., Mexico Hurricane Milton $20.0
2 Sep. 25-28 U.S., Mexico, Cuba Hurricane Helene 17.5
3 May 6-10 U.S. Severe Convective Storm 5.2
4 Mar. 12-16 U.S. Severe Convective Storm 4.8
5 Oct. 27-30 Spain Valencia Floods 3.9
6 May 17-22 U.S. Severe Convective Storm 3.9
7 Aug. 3-11 U.S., Canada Hurricane Derby 3.9
8 Jul. 1-11 U.S., Caribbean, Canada Hurricane Beryl 3.7
9 May 25-26 U.S. Severe Convective Storm 3.6
10 Annual U.S. U.S. Drought 3.5
All other events       75.1
Total 2024       $145

(1) Natural disasters that cause at least US$25 million in insured losses; or 10 deaths; or 50 people injured; or 2,000 filed claims or homes and structures damaged. Hurricane losses in the United States include National Flood Insurance Program losses. As of January 2025.
(2) Includes losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed.

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

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World Natural Disaster Events Ranked by Insured Losses, 2024 (1)

(2024 US$ billions)

Rank Peril Insured loss (US$ billions)
1 Severe Convective Storm $62
2 Tropical Cyclone 48
3 Flooding 21
4 Winter Weather 4
5 Drought 4
6 Wildfire 3
7 European Windstorm 2
8 Earthquake 1
9 Other 0
  Total $145

(1) Natural disasters that cause at least US$25 million in insured losses; or 10 deaths; or 50 people injured; or 2,000 filed claims or homes and structures damaged. As of January 2025.
(2) Chart total and amount cited in text may be different due to rounding by the source, Aon

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Aon.

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Top 10 Costliest World Natural Disasters By Insured Losses, 1900-2023 (1)

(2024 US$ billions)

        Insured loss
Rank Date  Country/region Event Dollars when occurred In 2024 dollars (2)
1 Aug. 2005 U.S. Hurricane Katrina $65 $104
2 Sept. 2022 U.S., Cuba Hurricane Ian 54 57
3 Mar. 11, 2011 Japan Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami 35 49
4 Sep. 2017 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Irma 33 43
5 Aug.-Sep. 2021 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Ida 36 42
6 Oct. 2012 U.S. Hurricane Sandy 30 41
7 Aug.-Sep. 2017 U.S. Hurricane Harvey 30 39
8 Sep. 2017 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Maria 30 38
9 Aug. 1992 U.S., Bahamas Hurricane Andrew 16 36
10 Jan. 17, 1994 U.S. Northridge Earthquake 15 33

(1) Natural disasters that cause at least US$25 million in insured losses; or 10 deaths; or 50 people injured; or 2,000 filed claims or homes and structures damaged. Losses for hurricanes in the United States include losses for the National Flood Insurance Program. As of January 2025.
(2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. Consumer Price Index.

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Aon.

View Archived Tables

Top 10 Deadliest World Natural Catastrophes, 2024 (1)

 

Rank Date Country Event Deaths
1 Jul. 10-20 Italy, Greece Heatwave 1,900
2 Apr. 20 - May 5 Southeastern Asia Heatwave 1,571
3 Jun. 1-20 Saudi Arabia Pilgrimage Extreme Heat 1,300
4 Sep. 1-9 China, Southeast Asia Typhoon Yagi 816
5 Mar. 1 - Jun. 30 India Heatwave 733
6 Apr. 18 - Oct. 31 Arizona Maricopa Heatwave 657
7 Mar. 20 - Apr. 30 East Africa Seasonal Floods 576
8 Aug. 1 - Sep. 30 Chad Seasonal Floods 576
9 Jun. 20-30 Pakistan Heatwave 568
10 Jan. 1 Japan Noto Earthquake 489
All other events       ~8,900
Total       ~18,100

(1) Natural disasters that cause at least 10 deaths. As of January 2025.

~ =Approximately.

Source: Aon.

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Top 10 Deadliest World Natural Catastrophes, 1950-2024 (1)

 

Rank Date Country/region Event Deaths
1 Nov. 12, 1970 Bangladesh Cyclone Bhola 300,000
2 Jul. 27, 1976 China Tangshan earthquake 242,769
3 Jul. 30, 1975 Taiwan, China Super Typhoon Nina 230,029
4 Dec. 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Basin Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami 226,408
5 Jan. 12, 2010 Haiti Port-au-Prince earthquake 160,000
6 Apr. 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone Gorky 139,000
7 May 2008 Myanmar Cyclone Nargis 138,366
8 Aug. 1971 Vietnam Vietnam floods 100,000
9 Oct. 8, 2005 Pakistan Kashmir earthquake 88,000
10 May 12, 2008 China Sichuan earthquake 87,652

(1) Natural disasters that cause at least 10 deaths. Does not include drought or heatwave events. As of January 2025.

Source: Aon.

View Archived Tables

Top 10 Costliest Global Tropical Cyclones by Insured Losses, 1900-2024 (1)

(2024 US$ billions)

        Insured loss
Rank Date Country/region Event Dollars when
occurred
In 2024
dollars (2)
1 Aug. 2005 U.S. Hurricane Katrina $65 $104
2 Sep. 2022 U.S., Cuba Hurricane Ian 54 57
3 Sep. 2017 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Irma 33 43
4 Aug. 2021 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Ida 36 42
5 Oct. 2012 U.S., Caribbean, Canada Hurricane Sandy 30 41
6 Aug. 2017 U.S. Hurricane Harvey 30 39
7 Sep. 2017 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Maria 30 38
8 Aug. 1992 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Andrew 16 36
9 Sep. 2008 U.S., Caribbean Hurricane Ike 18 27
10 Oct. 2024 U.S., Mexico Hurricane Milton 20 20

(1) Includes losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of January 2025.
(2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. consumer price index.

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Aon.

View Archived Tables

Top 10 Costliest Global Severe Convective Storms by Insured Losses, 1900-2024 (1)

(2024 US$ billions)

        Insured loss
Rank Date Country/region Event Dollars when
occurred
In 2024
dollars (2)
1 Aug. 2020 U.S. Severe convective storm 
(includes Midwest Derecho)
$9.2 $11.0
2 Apr. 2011 U.S. 2011 Super Outbreak 7.6 11.0
3 May 2011 U.S. Joplin Tornado/Severe convective storm 7.0 9.8
4 May 2003 U.S. Severe convective storm 3.3 5.7
5 May 2024 U.S. Severe convective storm 5.2 5.2
6 Jul. 2013 Europe Storm Andreas 3.8 5.1
7 Mar. 2023 U.S. Severe convective storm 4.9 5.1
8 Mar. 2024 U.S. Severe convective storm 4.8 4.8
9 Mar.-Apr. 2023 U.S., Canada Tornado Outbreak 4.3 4.5
10 May 2019 U.S. Severe convective storm 3.7 4.5

(1) Includes severe convective storms such as thunderstorms, tornadoes and hailstorms, straight-line winds and flooding that could occur with these storms. Includes losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of January 2025.
(2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. consumer price index.

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Aon.

View Archived Tables

Top 10 Costliest Global Wildfires by Insured Losses, 1900-2024 (1)

(2024 US$ billions)

        Insured loss
Rank Date Country Event Dollars when
occurred
In 2024
dollars (2)
1 Nov. 2018 U.S. Camp Fire $10.0 $13.0
2 Oct. 2017 U.S. Tubbs Fire 8.7 11.0
3 Nov. 2018 U.S. Woolsey Fire 4.2 5.3
4 Aug. 2023 U.S. Maui / Hawaii Fire 4.3 4.4
5 Oct. 1991 U.S. Oakland (Tunnel) Fire 1.7 3.9
6 Oct. 2017 U.S. Atlas Fire 3.0 3.8
7 May 2016 Canada Horse Creek Fire 2.9 3.7
8 Sep.-Oct. 2020 U.S. Glass Fire 3.0 3.6
9 Aug.-Sep. 2020 U.S. CZU Lightning Complex Fire 2.5 3.0
10 Dec. 2017 U.S. Thomas Fire 2.3 2.9

(1) Individual wildfires. Includes losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of January 2025.
(2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. consumer price index.

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Aon.

View Archived Tables

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