Growing exposure Closing the protection gap
Bridging economic and insured losses
This article was written
Arnaud Vanolli,
Nikhilmon O U,
Hilma Subair,
Kira Kuang,
Xin Dai,
James Finucane,
Caroline De Souza Rodrigues Cabral,
Vinitha Ajit,
Thomas Holzheu,
Angela Aleeta Alexander
Rising uninsured losses
The protection gap – the shortfall between available and needed coverage – remains large across major risk areas, including natural catastrophe, crop and mortality. For natural catastrophe risks, the protection gap widened to an estimated USD 424 billion in 2025 despite insurance protection broadly keeping pace with risk. Growing concentrations of people and assets in risk-prone areas continue to drive exposure higher.
In mortality, households are significantly underprotected, with the global gap reaching a record USD 432 billion due to rising income needs, debt and inflation, particularly in emerging markets.
For crops, changing climate patterns, commodity price volatility and geopolitical uncertainty have increased farmers’ exposure to losses. At the same time, pressure on public budgets is constraining the state support needed for agro-insurance systems to function effectively.
The protection gap is reaching new highs, and narrowing it is vital for strengthening economic resilience.
Chapters
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01Natural catastrophes
The USD 424bn protection gap and adaptation to counter growing exposure
10 minutes
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02Global mortality protection gap
Rising protection needs mark a record year
10 minutes
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03Global crop insurance
Rising exposures, strains on public budgets temper resilience gains
5 minutes
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