Natural disasters have incurred economic losses estimated at $100 billion in the first half of this year, reinsurance group Swiss Re said Tuesday, in what is seen as a sharp decline from the same period last year.
Despite severe storms in the U.S. and the deadly earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June, the losses were well below the $152 billion recorded in the first half of 2025, the group said in its latest report.
The losses were also 10% below the 10-year average for the period.
But Swiss Re, which serves as an insurer for insurance companies, noted that losses from natural disasters often increase in the second half of the year, mainly due to hurricanes in the North Atlantic Ocean.
"A less costly first half of the year does not mean the risk has gone away," said Balz Grollimund, the group's director of Catastrophe Perils.
