Windstorm Kristin delivered €340 million to €550 million in insured losses across the Iberian Peninsula, placing Portugal at the center of a wind loss event rarely recorded in the country’s recent insurance history.
Cotality Hazard HG Command Central estimated that Portugal accounts for €300 million to €450 million of the total, with losses spanning residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural risks. The estimate covers wind damage to buildings and contents, along with business interruption, and excludes losses tied to localized flooding and landslides.
Kristin made landfall in Portugal on January 28, producing wind gusts of up to 130mph. Cotality said the storm represents the most damaging wind event to strike the country since ex-hurricane Leslie in 2018 and is likely to leave higher insured losses than that event. The firm based its assessment on early claims data and post-event damage analysis.
Reported damage included partial destruction of a municipal sports center in Leiria, damage to F-16 jets at a nearby air base, and roof damage affecting churches, factories and schools across multiple regions. Cotality also said the storm disrupted electricity supply, with about 10% of Portugal’s population experiencing power outages following landfall.
Kristin weakened relatively quickly after moving inland, though insured losses were also recorded in Spain, which accounted for the remainder of Cotality’s estimated catastrophe total. The storm continued to affect parts of Italy and Greece before dissipating on January 31, but no insured loss figures for those countries were included in the estimate.
While Portugal does not typically feature among Europe’s highest windstorm loss markets, recent industry research has shown that climate-driven extreme weather events are producing insured losses in regions with lower historical frequency. The Counting the Cost 2025 report published by Christian Aid noted that insurance-based loss estimates remain the primary source of economic data for weather-related disasters in countries with developed insurance markets, while the full economic impact often exceeds insured figures.
Cotality’s broader catastrophe analysis framework places Kristin within a wider pattern of European wind events generating material insured losses.
For comparison, Peril AG recently increased its final industry loss estimate for Windstorm Éowyn, which struck the British Isles a year earlier, to €765 million. That storm also involved hurricane-force winds, according to Peril AG’s data. While Éowyn affected a different geographic market, the revision illustrates how European windstorm loss estimates can develop over time as claims mature.
