U.S. Storms and European Flood Drive Natural Disaster Losses – Aon Q1 Catastrophe Report

Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, published its Global Catastrophe Recap – First Quarter of 2026, which analyzes the natural disaster events that occurred worldwide during the quarter.

The report highlights Q1 economic losses of at least $37 billion (Q1 2025: $113 billion) – the lowest since 2015 and 43 percent below the 21 ^st century Q1 average – and insured losses of more than $20 billion, six percent higher than the 21 ^st century average.

The figures suggest a global insurance protection gap of 46 percent (2025: 51 percent), lower than the long-term average and predominantly due to high insurance penetration in the U.S., where 79 percent of global insured losses occurred.

Flooding and severe convective storms (SCS) caused the highest economic losses during Q1, with SCS highlighted as the most damaging peril for insurers – especially in the U.S., where the single costliest SCS event (March 10-12) resulted in a $5 billion economic loss and $4 billion in insured loss.

Meanwhile, Winter Storm Fern impacted the central and eastern U.S. in January, bringing freezing rain, heavy snowfall, severe thunderstorms and record-setting, prolonged cold temperatures. More than 130 people were killed, while economic and insured losses reached $4.6 billion and $3.5 billion respectively, making Fern potentially the fourth-costliest U.S. winter storm on record.

The report reveals that 12 events each caused more than one billion dollars of economic loss (average: nine) during the period under review, while five events each caused more than one billion dollars of insured loss (average: four). Natural disasters killed more than 1,640 people in Q1 2026, mainly due to flood events, compared to 6,300 in the prior year period.

Of note, Portugal recorded its costliest insurance event on record, Windstorm Kristin, which was estimated to have caused a €0.9 billion ($1 billion) insured loss. When combined with flood losses, 2026 will be the first year Portugal’s annual insured losses exceed €1 billion ($1.2 billion). Elsewhere, Daytona Beach, Florida, recorded its lowest ever temperature of 19°F (-7.2°C) on February 1, and in a March 10 SCS event in Illinois, hail up to 6.6 in (16.5 cm) was recorded.

Michal Lörinc, head of catastrophe insight for Aon, said: “Flooding in Western and Southern Europe, and severe storm events in the U.S., accounted for the majority of the first quarter global natural hazard losses. In response, we continue to update our capabilities to further address these and other perils – for instance, with the launch of our Automated Event Response service for U.S. severe convective storms – helping our clients respond to potential volatility and make better, more informed business decisions.”

Aon’s Global Catastrophe Recap – First Quarter of 2026 report is available at the following link: https://www.aon.com/getmedia/5c0b2587-9289-442d-b543-f416f1e681a9/20260415-q1-2026-cat-recap.pdf

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