Wildfires are getting bigger, costlier and deadlier
$40 bn
insured loss from the January 2025 Los Angeles fires alone — nearly twice the previous record year (Munich Re)
2% → 10%
wildfire's share of global insured natural-catastrophe losses, before 2015 vs since 2015 (Swiss Re sigma 1/2026)
$53 bn
total economic loss, LA fires, Jan 2025 (Munich Re)
5× record
2025 set a new all-time wildfire loss record, and five of the six costliest wildfires in history occurred since 2017 (Aon / III)
- Hotter, drier fire seasons: more days of extreme fire weather every decade
- More people and more power lines in the wildland-urban interface
- Result: fires that are larger, faster, and reach towns at night
