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 $1 billion reached 37, breaking the record of 30 set in 2020. This year’s trend was primarily due to severe convective storm activity in the United States and Europe.
- In the United States, there were 89 natural catastrophe loss events in 2023, resulting in 430 fatalities.
World Insurance Losses
Natural catastrophes
World Natural Disaster Events Ranked by Number Of Insured Losses, 2023 (1)
| Rank | Peril | Insured loss (US$ billions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Severe Convective Storm | $70 |
| 2 | Flooding | 13 |
| 3 | Drought | 10 |
| 4 | Earthquake | 7 |
| 5 | Tropical Cyclone | 6 |
| 6 | Wildfire | 5 |
| 7 | Winter Weather | 4 |
| 8 | European Windstorm | 4 |
| 9 | Other | 0 |
| Total | $118 (2) |
(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 2024.
(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.
Top 10 Costliest World Natural Disasters By Insured Losses, 1900-2023 (1)
| Rank | Date | Country/region | Event | Insured loss (2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug. 2005 | U.S. | Hurricane Katrina | $102 |
| 2 | Sept. 2022 | U.S., Cuba | Hurricane Ian | 56 |
| 3 | Mar. 11, 2011 | Japan | 2011 Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami | 48 |
| 4 | Sep. 2017 | U.S., Caribbean | Hurricane Irma | 42 |
| 5 | Aug.-Sep. 2021 | U.S., Caribbean | Hurricane Ida | 41 |
| 6 | Oct. 2012 | U.S. | Hurricane Sandy | 40 |
| 7 | Aug. 2017 | U.S. | Hurricane Harvey | 38 |
| 8 | Sep. 2017 | U.S., Caribbean | Hurricane Maria | 37 |
| 9 | Aug. 1992 | U.S., Bahamas | Hurricane Andrew | 35 |
| 10 | Jan. 17, 1994 | U.S. | Northridge Earthquake | 32 |
(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 2024.
(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.
Top 10 Deadliest World Natural Catastrophes, 2023 (1)
| Rank | Date | Country | Event | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb. 6-20 | Turkey and Syria | Turkey and Syria Earthquakes | 59,272 |
| 2 | Aug. 13-27 | Europe | Heatwave | 8,339 |
| 3 | Jul. 10-30 | Southern and Southeastern Europe | Cerberus Heatwave | 5,949 |
| 4 | Sep. 4-12 | Greece, Bulgaria, Libya, Turkey | Storm Daniel | 4,730 |
| 5 | Sep. 8 | Morocco | High Atlas Earthquake | 2,946 |
| 6 | Apr. 1-Dec. 31 | India | India Seasonal Floods | 2,653 |
| 7 | Oct. 7-15 | Afghanistan | Western Afghanistan Earthquakes | 1,480 |
| 8 | Feb. 20-Mar. 15 | Southern Africa | Cyclone Freddy | 1,434 |
| 9 | Sep. 3-8 | Western Europe | Heatwave | 1,306 |
| 10 | May 2-5 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Eastern DRC Flooding | 470 |
| All other events | ~6,400 | |||
| Total | ~95,000 |
(1) Natural disasters that cause at least 10 deaths. As of January 2024.
~ =Approximately.
Source: Aon.
Top 10 Deadliest World Natural Catastrophes, 1950-2023 (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 2024.
Source: Aon.
Top 10 Costliest Global Tropical Cyclones by Insured Losses, 1900-2023 (1)
| Insured loss | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Date | Country/region | Event | Dollars when occurred |
In 2023 dollars (2) |
| 1 | Aug. 2005 | U.S. | Hurricane Katrina | $65 | $102 |
| 2 | Sep. 2022 | U.S., Cuba | Hurricane Ian | 54 | 56 |
| 3 | Sep. 2017 | U.S., Caribbean | Hurricane Irma | 33 | 42 |
| 4 | Aug. 2021 | U.S., Caribbean | Hurricane Ida | 36 | 41 |
| 5 | Oct. 2012 | U.S., Caribbean, Canada | Hurricane Sandy | 30 | 40 |
| 6 | Aug. 2017 | U.S. | Hurricane Harvey | 30 | 38 |
| 7 | Sep. 2017 | U.S., Caribbean | Hurricane Maria | 30 | 37 |
| 8 | Aug. 1992 | U.S., Caribbean | Hurricane Andrew | 16 | 35 |
| 9 | Sep. 2008 | U.S., Caribbean | Hurricane Ike | 18 | 26 |
| 10 | Oct. 2005 | U.S., Caribbean | Hurricane Wilma | 13 | 19 |
(1) Includes losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of January 2024.
(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.
Top 10 Costliest Global Severe Convective Storms By Insured Losses, 1900-2024 (1)
| 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 |
Top 10 Costliest Global Wildfires by Insured Losses, 1900-2023 (1)
| Insured loss | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Date | Country | Event | Dollars when occurred |
In 2023 dollars (2) |
| 1 | Nov. 2018 | U.S. | Camp Fire | $10.0 | $12.2 |
| 2 | Oct. 2017 | U.S. | Tubbs Fire | 8.7 | 10.9 |
| 3 | Nov. 2018 | U.S. | Woolsey Fire | 4.2 | 5.1 |
| 4 | Oct. 1991 | U.S. | Oakland (Tunnel) Fire | 1.7 | 3.8 |
| 5 | Oct. 2017 | U.S. | Atlas Fire | 3.0 | 3.7 |
| 6 | May 2016 | Canada | Horse Creek Fire | 2.9 | 3.7 |
| 7 | Aug. 2023 | U.S. | Maui / Hawaii Fire | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| 8 | Sep.-Oct. 2020 | U.S. | Glass Fire | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| 9 | Aug.-Sep. 2020 | U.S. | CZU Lightning Complex Fire | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| 10 | Dec. 2017 | U.S. | Thomas Fire | 2.3 | 2.8 |
(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 2024.
(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.
