Twenty-three billion-dollar disasters, $115 billion in damage, and not one hurricane: 2025 was a masterclass in how climate risk in the U.S. has changed.
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.
Property insurance markets across the U.S. are under strain as premiums rise and insurers pull back from high-risk regions. In response, a growing number of states are leaning on public and quasi-public reinsurance backstops.
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.
There are no silver bullet solutions for the private sector to adopt to dramatically reduce the costs of winter storms. The biggest lever to bring costs down exists in modernizing and winterizing the grid—an endeavor that will require substantial technological, mechanical, and financial investments.
