Extreme weather events: avoiding the insurability crisis in France
In 2025, 52% of the costs related to extreme weather events worldwide were not insured and therefore remained the responsibility of those affected, households, local authorities, and public finances alike. In France, the intensification of such events is putting the insurance system at risk. Reclaim Finance has therefore analyzed the financial health of ten of the largest European insurers and reinsurers, some of which operate on the French market.
Key findings:
- Between 2010 and 2024, the average net income of the private (re)insurers studied increased by more than 60%.
- Despite the intensification of extreme weather events, dividends paid by the listed (re)insurers studied rose by 40% over the past 10 years.
- Since 2016, AXA, Allianz and Generali have each generated more than €250 million in annual profits from their French property insurance business, despite increasingly costly extreme weather events.
Financial needs, on top of those required for risk mitigation, are considerable: according to France Assureurs, total damages caused by extreme climate events in France are expected to double by 2050. At the same time, citizens, local authorities and the french public reinsurance company (Caisse Centrale de Réassurance) are already facing significant financial constraints. New sources of funding must therefore be mobilized to avoid an increased socialization of climate-related losses.
In the interest of social justice, and in light of the exceptional results reported by major listed insurers, Reclaim Finance calls on public authorities to further mobilize them to support natural risk mitigation and the compensation of extreme weather events related damages.