Insured losses reached $145 billion in 2024, the sixth-costliest year on record according to new research from Aon, the global professional services firm, while over economic losses reached $368 billion.

Aon’s 2025 Climate and Catastrophe Report pointed the finger at tropical cyclones, severe convective storms and floods as primary drivers of the loss.

Hurricane Helen in September 2024, was the most devastating event, causing an estimated $75 billion in direct damage, mainly due to inland and coastal flooding.

Global losses surpassed $300 billion for the ninth year in a row and were 14 per cent higher than the long-term average.

Meanwhile, the global protection gap was relatively low at 60 per cent, with 40 per cent of damage being covered by insurance. The gap decreased from 69 per cent in 2023. However, notable differences between regions and peril remained.

Aon said that providing affordable and sustainable insurance products will be crucial to enhance financial resilience in the future.

An increase in population, wealth and overall exposure to natural hazards in high-risk areas was a crucial component of growing disaster losses.

“Staggering development in hurricane-prone Florida or spatial growth of American cities in areas regularly affected by severe convective storm activity increases the likelihood of billion-dollar disasters,” researchers said. “Many regions continued to suffer from impacts of inflation and other economic factors.”

However, global fatalities were among the lowest in thirty years. Aon attributed this to improvements in early warning systems, weather prediction, crisis management and disaster preparedness.

“While this is a positive development, continued improvements are still needed even in countries that are better positioned to deal with disasters due to their economic development level,” Aon said.

Last year was also one of the hottest on record.

For the first time, global temperature anomaly exceeded 34.7F (1.5C) above the pre-industrial levels.

This manifested in global record temperatures and continued influence on the severity and frequency of various perils.

Aon researchers said this underscored the need for reliable climate data and analytics to gauge the impact on people and property.

The report went on to say that adaptation and disaster preparedness can mitigate damage and create more resilient communities.

“Disasters of 2024 provided valuable lessons on how building resilient infrastructure and adaptation measures can help reduce material and financial impacts in current and future climate,” the report said. “For example, adherence to building codes in Florida helped to partially mitigate damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“Similarly, improved preparedness through better warning systems, weather forecasts or evacuation planning is crucial in reducing the risk to human lives, as was shown during the flooding in Central Europe or effects of typhoons in the Philippines.”