Natural disasters cost $417 billion worldwide in 2024

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Natural disasters and severe weather cost the global economy $417 billion last year, including $154 billion for which insurers were on the hook, according to a new report. Last year was the warmest year on record dating to 1850 and saw a record 21 natural catastrophes with multibillion-dollar price tags, according to a report from Gallagher Re, a reinsurance broker.

Gallagher Chief Science Officer Steve Bowen said the trend toward increased losses can be explained, in part, by the warming climate. “Climate change is a cause [of increased losses]. It is not the cause," Bowen said.

“You have folks that are very much wanting to attribute and simplify the reasons for increased losses to just one or two factors. But the reality is much more complicated than that." Bowen said that climate change tends to make weather events such as hurricanes on average more severe, but not necessarily more frequent. Weather-related losses have been driven higher by inflation in the cost of rebuilding and the expansion of cities, which creates more built-up areas that could be pummelled by storms where previously there was countryside.

The $154 billion in losses covered by insurers worldwide represented a 27% increase over the 10-year average. Stronger thunderstorms and hailstorms, termed severe convective storms by climate scientists, have also led to higher overall catastrophe-related losses, Gallagher said. Those storms considered together caused at least $64 billion in insured losses.