Global insured wildfire losses have surged, Allianz

As the frequency, size and severity of wildfires grow, so does the number of communities and ecosystems impacted by them. According to Allianz Commercial's Wildfires: Emerging Risk Trend Talk 4, global insured losses from wildfires have increased significantly.

Swiss Re data shared in the Allianz report reveals that the global cost of insured wildfire-related losses increased from $8.7 billion in the 2000s to $56.3 billion in the 2010s. Estimates show that only about 5% of wildfires start naturally, and more than 80% of wildfires in the United States are started by humans, Swiss Re shares. 

The wildfires caused by overhead powerlines in California from 2015 to 2020 may be a significant driver for this surge in losses, according to Allianz. Wildfire-related property losses, as well as fatalities, increased in the United States in 2017, with the following four years up to 2021 now considered the worst in wildfire losses since 1990.

The following chart uses data from Swiss Re, shared in Allianz Commercial's Wildfires: Emerging Risk Trend Talk 4.