The economic losses from disasters that are not covered by insurance continue to grow, but resilience projects are generating measurable positive returns.
If today’s funding landscape resembles disconnected wells, then climate resilience requires something closer to a watershed—where resources are intentionally pooled, directed, and circulated across geographies, sectors, and time horizons.
From June through August, warming temperatures and atmospheric moisture combine to produce the hail, tornadoes, and derechos that are now responsible for more cumulative insured losses than tropical cyclones.
Several drivers are contributing to the rise in expensive severe convective storms: 1) population growth in high-risk areas; 2) non-resilient physical assets; and 3) rising building premiums.
Population growth in areas prone to severe storms has increased asset exposure and the physical assets in harm's way are not designed to withstand high winds or hail. Meanwhile, building premiums to rebuild after severe storms are increasing.
Twenty-three billion-dollar weather and climate disasters struck the United States in 2025, revealing important takeaways for decision-makers in the real estate, public infrastructure, and insurance sectors.
Unexpected disasters are causing damage in unlikely places, forcing decision-makers in the public and private sectors to prepare for the most common disasters in their region as well as the rare, once-in-a-hundred-year ones. But strategies exist to help decision-makers prepare for the unexpected.
In just a few hours, a severe storm can cause billions worth of damage. Three levers offer opportunities to enhance resiliency and reduce the costs of severe storms: 1) Invest in more resilient roofing; 2) Adopt more resilient construction practices; 3) Invest in new innovations and technologies.
