A quiet catastrophe year can mask escalating risk. Verisk explores why catastrophe modelling remains critical for insurers preparing for rising losses, frequency perils and the possibility of extreme events.

Australia’s catastrophe landscape is becoming more costly and complex, making understanding the drivers of loss increasingly important for insurers.

In 2025–26, seven declared events generated more than 147,500 claims and $3.98 billion in insured losses, compared with approximately $2.2 billion the previous year.

The Insurance Council of Australia’s Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report 2025–26 examines the pressures behind those figures, from escalating construction costs and constrained building capacity to changing weather risks.

Since 2019, 29 declared extreme weather events have produced more than 760,000 home and building claims worth $20.7 billion, while annual flood losses have risen from $129 million in the 2000s to around $2 billion since 2020.

Read the report to understand the trends reshaping catastrophe claims and why investment in stronger homes, smarter planning and resilience will be critical to managing Australia’s future insurance risk.

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