Reinsurers are being urged to remain prepared for more severe European windstorm seasons on the back of a €479 million loss from Windstorm Goretti in 2025/26.
PERILS said the season recorded limited insured losses, with only two windstorms - Goretti and Nils - exceeding its thresholds of €300 million for a single country or €500 million across Europe.
“At this stage, it is relatively safe to conclude that the 2025/26 European windstorm season has ended. Like the previous season, the losses experienced were relatively benign, with only two moderately impactful windstorms – Goretti and Nils – exceeding our loss capturing threshold of EUR 300 million for any one country or EUR 500m for a Europe-wide event,” said Luzi Hitz, product manager at PERILS
Windstorm Goretti ranks as the second largest loss event of the season, following Windstorm Nils.
PERILS placed the industry loss estimate for Goretti at €479 million, up from €467 million issued on February 20, 2026, six weeks after the event.
The estimate is based on insurer-reported losses across property and motor lines. A further update, including breakdowns by CRESTA zone and line of business, is scheduled for July 9, 2026.
The storm affected southwest England, northern France and Belgium between January 8 and 9, 2026.
Losses were concentrated in northern France, including Manche and Calvados, and in Cornwall in southwest England. Belgium recorded limited impact. Higher gust intensities along the English Channel and adjacent coastal regions, indicating the areas where insured losses were more concentrated.
PERILS pointed to recent seasons to illustrate the range of outcomes for European windstorm risk.
“While the impact of this season on the re/insurance industry has been more limited, recent history shows that European windstorm seasons can be considerably more severe. For example, the 2023/24 season witnessed Windstorm Ciaran which generated insured losses of EUR 2,067 million at the time, while the 2021/22 season saw a storm series with Dudley, Eunice and Franklin (also known as Ylenia, Zeynep and Antonia) generating a combined loss of EUR 3,851 million. Re/insurers should therefore remain well prepared for the potential of more severe seasons ahead,” said Hitz.
Data from European regulators indicates that insured losses represent only a portion of total economic damage from natural catastrophes. Historical estimates suggest that only about 25% of such losses in Europe have been insured, leaving a large share uninsured.
Protection gap report shows a persistent difference between insured and uninsured losses across the EU over time, with uninsured losses forming the majority in most years. This gap is linked to factors including cost, limited awareness of available products and assumptions that governments will provide post-disaster support.
European policymakers are examining risk-sharing mechanisms to address coverage gaps. Financial Times reported that EU regulators have proposed a €10 billion to €65 billion pool to support insurers facing natural catastrophe losses.
Recent events illustrate the gap in coverage. Less than €4.5 billion of €11billion in losses from the 2024 Valencia floods were insured, while €13 billion of €51 billion from the 2021 Ahr valley floods were covered.
A briefing by E3G stated that managing climate risks is becoming part of economic governance, requiring coordinated EU-level approaches to address cross-border and systemic risks affecting financial markets and infrastructure.
The same briefing points to the need for public–private risk-sharing arrangements and increased mobilisation of private capital to improve insurance coverage for natural catastrophe risks.
The combination of moderate insured losses in the current season and evidence of larger historical events points to ongoing variability in European windstorm risk.
PERILS data is used in risk transfer structures including industry loss warranties and insurance-linked securities, linking event loss estimates to capital market instruments.
The organisation’s database covers 18 countries, including the UK, and provides industry-level exposure and loss data by CRESTA zone and line of business.
