RiskEvents
ClosedMedium impactAI Generated

PERILS Raises Insured Loss Estimate for Windstorm Nils (France) to €767m – May 2026

Occurred 11 Feb 2026·Detected 14 May 2026·
🇫🇷 Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions, southwest France; secondary impact in the French Alps1 reportEnded 31 May 2026
Natural CatastrophePropertyMarine CargoEnergyCasualty & LiabilityReinsurance

PERILS, a Zurich-based catastrophe insurance data provider, has raised its second industry insured loss estimate for extratropical windstorm Nils (also known as Ulrike) to €767 million, a 31% increase from the initial estimate of €586 million issued in late March 2026. The storm struck the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions of southwest France from 11–13 February 2026, generating the largest single-event loss of the 2025/2026 European windstorm season. At its peak, approximately 900,000 households lost electricity, extreme winds damaged thousands of structures, and flooding and avalanches compounded the destruction. The event is described as the most impactful storm to hit southwestern France since Klaus in January 2009.

AI-generated from linked source reports. See our correction policy.

Impact verdict

Medium impact. The €767 million insured loss estimate is significant for the European windstorm season and notable for French property and motor insurers, but is below major catastrophe thresholds typically driving high-impact reinsurance losses; the event is geographically confined to southwest France.

View assessment methodology

How we grade what we know -- Known · Reported · Uncertain. Methodology →

Intelligence ledger

Each line expands in place to its underlying sourced claim.

Known7 lines

PERILS has issued a second industry loss estimate of €767 million for Windstorm Nils, covering property and motor lines.▾
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No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
This is a 31% increase from the initial estimate of €586 million issued on 27 March 2026.▾
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No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
The storm affected Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions in southwest France from 11–13 February 2026.▾
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Approximately 900,000 households were left without electricity at peak impact.▾
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Two fatalities were recorded.▾
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Windstorm Nils is the largest single-event loss of the 2025/2026 European windstorm season.▾
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No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
A further updated estimate (loss footprint by CRESTA zone and lines of business) is scheduled for 13 August 2026.▾
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Reported4 lines

The storm also caused avalanches in the French Alps in addition to wind damage and flooding.▾
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Transport came to a virtual standstill in affected areas at peak impact.▾
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Thousands of houses, roofs, and lightweight structures were damaged.▾
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The 2025/2026 European windstorm season is described as the second consecutive season with notably low losses overall.▾
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Uncertain3 lines

Total economic (insured + uninsured) loss quantum is not specified.▾
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No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
Breakdown of loss by property vs. motor lines not yet disclosed.▾
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No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.
Full geographic extent of avalanche damage in the French Alps is unquantified.▾
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No separate sourced-claim record is available for this line yet.

Affected countries

🇧🇪 Belgium🇩🇪 Germany🇩🇰 Denmark🇫🇷 France🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇳🇱 Netherlands🇵🇱 Poland

Timeline

Status Change2 Jun 2026, 20:30

Lifecycle changed

monitoring → closed

Closure2 Jun 2026, 20:30

Event Closed

auto_closed_monitoring_timeout

Status Change31 May 2026, 19:30

Status changed to monitoring

Auto-transitioned: no updates for 6 hours

active → monitoring

Status Change31 May 2026, 11:00

Status changed to active

evidence_trigger: developing_promotion

developing → active

Status Change27 May 2026, 10:54

Lifecycle changed

signal → developing

Initial Detection14 May 2026, 05:40

Initial Detection

PERILS, a Zurich-based catastrophe insurance data provider, has raised its second industry insured loss estimate for extratropical windstorm Nils (also known as Ulrike) to €767 million, a 31% increase from the initial estimate of €586 million issued in late March 2026. The storm struck the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions of southwest France from 11–13 February 2026, generating the largest single-event loss of the 2025/2026 European windstorm season. At its peak, approximately 900,000 households lost electricity, extreme winds damaged thousands of structures, and flooding and avalanches compounded the destruction. The event is described as the most impactful storm to hit southwestern France since Klaus in January 2009.

PERILS has disclosed an increased second industry loss estimate for extratropical windstorm 'Nils', also known as 'Ulrike', to €767 million. This is a 31% increase from the initial loss estimate of €586 million, issued by PERILS on March 27th, 2026... Nils generated the largest event loss of the 2025/2026 European windstorm season.

Source: Reinsurance News (Trade Media) · View source

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