The Price of Disaster: Footing the Bill for Recent Insured Losses

Over $89 billion in insurance losses have occurred since 2008 in the U.S. as a direct result of hail, tornadoes, and straight-line winds. That is more than double the $40 billion that has been paid out for hurricane and tropical storm damages, even when including storms like Ike (2008) and Sandy (2012). The severity of events has eclipsed new heights, with the 2011 Super Outbreak in the Southeast U.S. becoming the most expensive thunderstorm-related loss in U.S. history. The major events and associated losses from the past 24 years have been analyzed to determine the probability of recurrence of these catastrophes from an insured loss perspective. These data have also been analyzed to understand the trends in storm losses over the past six years, including population increases, changing claiming practices, shifting locations of events, building code improvements, and other socio-economic factors. This paper discusses the implications of the events of the last six years on the insurance industry, provides analysis for the most severe events, and discusses possible sources for the increasing insured losses borne by the industry from severe convective storms in the U.S.