Zurich-based catastrophe insurance data provider PERILS has released its third industry loss estimate for Windstorm Goretti (also known as Elli), which affected southwestern England, northern France and Belgium on January 8-9, 2026, costing €468 million.
Storm Goretti was an intense extratropical cyclone that produced strong winds in the English Channel and adjacent coastal areas.
Cornwall in southwestern England and the French departments of Manche, Calvados and Seine-Maritime are among the worst-affected areas. The impact on Belgium has been relatively limited.
The €468 million loss estimate is lower than the second industry loss estimate of €479 million released in April 2026, three months after the event’s end date, and is essentially the same as the original €467 million loss estimate released six weeks after the event.
The estimate covers property and auto business and is based on loss data collected from affected insurance companies.
For the first time, the industry loss footprint includes regional-level motor loss data for European storm events CRESTA.
Car losses in Belgium accounted for 8% of total losses, while the proportion in other affected countries was lower, with France accounting for 5% and the UK only 1%. Nonetheless, a clear correlation between wind speed and damage severity can be observed in both France and Belgium.
PERILS says the fourth update on market losses caused by Windstorm Goretti will be available on January 9, 2027 (12 months after the campaign end date).
Christoph Oehy, CEO of PERILS, commented: “Goretti was the second-biggest storm loss event in Europe during the 2025/26 financial season, behind Storm Niels, which occurred a month later. Earlier in the season, two more storms hit Europe in October 2025. However, neither exceeded PERILS’s reporting threshold. From a European market perspective, Goretti’s insured losses were not exceptional, as the storm caused losses of up to 4.68 billion euros.” Losses of a similar size typically occur every one to two years.
“The inclusion of motor loss data from European storms is an important enhancement to the PERILS database. This is particularly valuable in the context of severe convective storms, as motor losses from hail damage can represent a significant portion of total insured losses.”
