Q3 insured losses 72% below 21st century average at $12bn: Aon

Global insured losses during the third quarter were just $12bn, 72% below the average for this century, according to Aon’s Q3 cat activity report.

The broker’s report stressed, however, that over the year to 30 September, global insured losses were at least $114bn, exceeding the 21st century average ($83bn) and median ($73bn).

Aon highlighted that cat losses during the first half of 2025 were the second-highest on record, driven by the $40bn California wildfires in January, but that cat activity was notably quiet during Q3.

Economic losses during the nine-month period amounted to $203bn, around 29% below the long-term mean since 2000 and the lowest since 2015.

The global protection gap for losses during the first nine months of the year was unusually low at 44%, Aon said.

This was because a large amount of the cat activity occurred in the US, where insurance penetration is relatively high.

Cat activity in the US accounted for around 90% of global insured losses over the nine-month period, totting up around $100bn in insured losses. Insured losses in all other regions were significantly lower compared to their long-term averages for the nine months.

Aon said that 22 events surpassed $1bn in insured losses during the first nine months of 2025. Outside of the US, these events included the Myanmar earthquake and the severe convective storm event in Europe in late June.