News

Europe's Wildfire Gap Leaves Nomads Without a Safety Net

Europe's 2026 wildfire season is already rewriting records. France burned through more than 115,000 hectares — nearly double its 2022 total — while Spain recorded what analysts described as the largest wildfire in the country's recorded history. Total losses in France alone are estimated at €10 billion to €15 billion. And yet, most of that damage will not be covered by insurance.

The insurance gap is not new, but it is widening. According to Insurance Journal's reporting on the 2026 season, only about a quarter of European climate-related catastrophe losses between 1980 and 2024 were insured. Spain's 2025 wildfires illustrate how sharp that gap can be: they caused close to €5 billion in damage, yet "well under" €1 billion was covered. Analysis published by Reuters and Yahoo Finance cites the European Central Bank and the EU's insurance regulator as sources for that one-in-four figure. Home insurance rates in France's Nouvelle-Aquitaine region already rose roughly 20 percent in 2026, per Moody's, and analysts warn that by 2050 areas around French cities could see nearly 70 percent more high-risk wildfire days each year — meaning the problem compounds rather than corrects.

What this means for remote workers and nomads

The property insurance shortfall matters if you own or rent a home in Southern Europe. But for nomads moving through Spain, France, Portugal, or Italy this summer, the more immediate concern is travel insurance — and there too, the protection gap is real.

Reviewing the policy landscape, we found that roughly half of travel insurance policies do not include specific catastrophe or natural disaster cover, according to insurance analysis firm Defaqto, cited in LADbible's August 2026 reporting. When that cover is included at all, it is often bundled only with premium or comprehensive tiers, or sold as an optional add-on. Which? notes that policies typically require a formal government travel advisory — such as the UK's FCDO advice against travel — before trip cancellation or curtailment benefits become available. Which? travel editor Rory Boland put it plainly: "Insurance firms won't make allowances for 'disinclination to travel.'"

In practice this means: if your government has not issued an official advisory for your destination and you decide to cut a stay short because fires are nearby, a standard policy is unlikely to reimburse you. Emergency medical treatment for smoke inhalation or heat-related conditions is more broadly covered, but alternative accommodation costs and trip interruption from a non-mandatory evacuation are not.

For nomads with travel insurance policies covering longer stays, the timing of purchase also matters. Buying after a fire is already a "known event" can void cancellation cover for that specific hazard entirely — insurers treat the risk as foreseeable once it is in the news.

The practical checklist before any summer booking in Southern Europe: read the catastrophe or natural disaster section of your policy, confirm whether an official government advisory is required to trigger benefits, and check whether your policy covers emergency accommodation separately from trip cancellation. If you are working remotely from a rental for weeks or months at a time, verify whether short-term rental cancellation — not just flight costs — is in scope.