Extreme weather events are increasingly becoming a major cost driver for the insurance industry in Europe, according to reinsurer Swiss Re at the industry meeting in Baden-Baden.
The severe hailstorm in Switzerland on August 28, 2026, caused estimated insured damages of more than 1.7 billion francs. The severe weather particularly affected the cantons of Bern, Solothurn, Aargau, Zurich, and Thurgau through wind gusts and hail. Leopold Camara, head of property and casualty reinsurance for Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe at Swiss Re, stated that the same event centered over Zurich would likely have caused significantly greater losses.
Approximately 800 million francs of the estimated damage total was attributed to motor vehicles. Swiss Re noted that vehicle damage is playing an increasingly important role during extreme weather events. Hailstorms in northern Italy also generated high losses in July and August.
Alongside hail and storms, wildfires are drawing greater focus. Citing a Swiss Re study, damages from wildfires in Europe have increased by eight to eleven percent annually over the past decades. In France, larger areas were affected by fires in 2026 than in the preceding twenty years. In Spain, fires destroyed larger total areas this year despite earlier years seeing more individual fires, according to Nikhil da Victoria Lobo, head of reinsurance for Western and Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Swiss Re.
Extreme heat and drought could also trigger further economic damages. Low water levels in major rivers disrupt freight transport and pressure supply chains, while energy supplies, infrastructure, and agriculture are likewise affected.
Swiss Re did not provide clear statements regarding price trends in the reinsurance market, stating that blanket assertions about falling prices do not reflect market realities due to divergent trends across business segments and regions. Camara described the conditions as numerous micro-cycles.
