Filipinos are becoming more financially resilient against the potential losses destructive typhoons could cause, as the number of insured properties and lives increased in 2025.

Global insurance broker Aon wrote in a Jan. 20 report that the Philippines, despite being frequently hit by typhoons, has increased its layer of protection against massive economic losses.

This is evident in total insurance penetration, which climbed 11 basis points (bps) to 1.85 percent in the third quarter of 2025 from 1.74 percent in the same period in 2024. Insurance penetration refers to the size of a country’s insurance market relative to its economy, measured as total insurance premiums divided by gross domestic product (GDP).

Aon noted that non-life insurance accounted for 1.1 percent of the total uptake, “suggesting gradual progress in strengthening financial resilience against natural catastrophes.” Total premiums in the non-life sector increased by 13 percent to over $1 billion during the quarter, up from $906.5 million a year earlier.

From June to August 2025, Tropical Storm Crising and Typhoons Betty, Isang, and Emong battered parts of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, killing more than 150 people, damaging over 200,000 homes, destroying about 480,000 acres of crops, and causing losses of up to $3 billion.

From late September to November, Typhoons Opong, Nando, Paolo, Tino, and Uwan hit the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, killing more than 500 people and causing losses of over $5 billion.

Global economic losses reached $260 billion in 2025, 23 percent below the 21st-century average and the lowest since 2015, according to the report. Insured losses climbed to $127 billion, 27 percent above the long-term average.

This suggests that insurance covered a larger share of total losses than in previous years, as reflected by the global protection gap narrowing to a record-low 51 percent.

More than half of global economic losses in 2025 were in the United States (US), followed by Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and other parts of the Americas.

It bears noting that countries in Southeast Asia have massive exposure to natural disasters and a heavy reliance on self-funding for recovery rather than insurance. Since 2000, only 12 percent of economic losses from flooding and tropical cyclones in the region have been covered by insurance.

This means the protection gap in the region remains high at 88 percent, requiring self-support or government assistance.