Europe’s Heatwaves Leave Businesses Unprotected
What Happened
As Europe endures its fifth major heatwave of 2026, businesses are facing falling sales, lower productivity, and higher operating costs. Many firms are discovering that traditional business interruption insurance does not cover heat-related losses, creating a major protection gap. Moody’s estimates last summer's heatwaves caused €43 billion in economic losses, but only €500 million was covered by insurance.
Key Takeaways
Climate-driven heatwaves are becoming a significant economic risk across Europe, while insurance coverage remains limited. This is pushing insurers to explore new products, such as temperature-triggered parametric insurance, and forcing businesses to adapt to increasingly extreme weather.