Cost of Climate Events in France Reaches Five Billion Euros in 2024
Insurance payouts for climate-related incidents reflect a significant increase compared to historical averages.
In 2024, the cost of climate events for insurers in France reached five billion euros, as reported by France Assureurs on March 26, 2025. This figure is lower than the average of 5.6 billion euros for the years 2020-2024, but substantially higher than the average of 1.5 billion euros recorded between 1982 and 1989. The year 2024 ranks as the ninth highest for costs incurred by insurers since the establishment of the natural disaster compensation scheme in 1982.
Breaking down the costs, storms, hail, and snow accounted for 2.2 billion euros, while natural disasters contributed two billion euros and crop insurance amounted to 800 million euros.
Storms and hail are typically covered under standard liability insurance contracts, whereas flooding and droughts fall under the 'catastrophic natural events' regime, for which the state bears half the costs, thereby alleviating the financial burden on insurers.
During 2024, damage incurred from storms Kirk and Leslie in October, as well as from the Cévennes and Mediterranean weather events, totaled 785 million euros.
Additionally, flooding in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais regions between November 2023 and January 2024 resulted in costs of around 430 million euros.
Overseas territories were also affected, facing three cyclones in a span of 13 months, causing a total estimated cost of over one billion euros.
Cyclone Chido, which struck Mayotte in December, alone generated damages amounting to 500 million euros.
In the context of property insurance, 2024 was recorded as the rainiest and least sunny year in over two decades across metropolitan France, leading to a 12% increase in water damage claims, particularly in areas experiencing excess rainfall.
These excessive rainfalls pose a heightened risk of clay shrinkage and swelling, potentially resulting in structural damage to buildings, especially if significant drought conditions occur in the summer of 2025, as warned by France Assureurs.
Over the past two decades, compensations for water damage have more than doubled, increasing by 134% due to the rise in both the frequency and average costs of claims, making them the leading type of claims in property insurance for 2024.
Breaking down the costs, storms, hail, and snow accounted for 2.2 billion euros, while natural disasters contributed two billion euros and crop insurance amounted to 800 million euros.
Storms and hail are typically covered under standard liability insurance contracts, whereas flooding and droughts fall under the 'catastrophic natural events' regime, for which the state bears half the costs, thereby alleviating the financial burden on insurers.
During 2024, damage incurred from storms Kirk and Leslie in October, as well as from the Cévennes and Mediterranean weather events, totaled 785 million euros.
Additionally, flooding in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais regions between November 2023 and January 2024 resulted in costs of around 430 million euros.
Overseas territories were also affected, facing three cyclones in a span of 13 months, causing a total estimated cost of over one billion euros.
Cyclone Chido, which struck Mayotte in December, alone generated damages amounting to 500 million euros.
In the context of property insurance, 2024 was recorded as the rainiest and least sunny year in over two decades across metropolitan France, leading to a 12% increase in water damage claims, particularly in areas experiencing excess rainfall.
These excessive rainfalls pose a heightened risk of clay shrinkage and swelling, potentially resulting in structural damage to buildings, especially if significant drought conditions occur in the summer of 2025, as warned by France Assureurs.
Over the past two decades, compensations for water damage have more than doubled, increasing by 134% due to the rise in both the frequency and average costs of claims, making them the leading type of claims in property insurance for 2024.
