European wildfires have exposed mounting pressure on insurers as climate risks intensify, GlobalData says.

Insurers face losses as severe fires hit France, Spain and Greece and reveal “narrow margins in high-risk property coverage”.

Natural fire and hazard premium in France totalled $US2.4 billion ($3.38 billion) in 2024. Claims reached $US2.2 billion ($3.1 billion) – a difference of just $US218 million ($307.4 million), GlobalData says.

Wildfires in France are not covered by a state-backed compensation scheme.

“This highlights how thin the margins can be in this high-risk line and illustrates how difficult 2026 will be for insurers,” GlobalData said. “France’s data shows how quickly claims can approach premiums, raising concerns over insurers’ capacity to absorb escalating climate-related losses and maintain coverage in increasingly vulnerable regions.”

GlobalData analyst Ben Carey-Evans says insurers around the world “should be extremely concerned by climate change” and severe weather.

“The long-term risk here is that insurers pull away from personal and commercial policies in high-risk areas and large areas of land and population become uninsurable,” he said. “This is one of the most-pressing issues in insurance, with more serious events becoming increasingly likely every year.

“Insurers and governments will need to work out how they can continue to insure increasingly large areas, with many communities and businesses at risk.”

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