Extreme weather in the last decade, and especially over the last few months has people wondering if the apocalypse is truly approaching. For the insurance companies, it has apparently begun. Around the world, several insurers are reevaluating risk as a result of increased natural disasters and extreme weather. Learn more about this trend as reported in American Public Media’s Marketplace report from May 23, 2011:
Tornadoes add to catastrophic year for insurers | Marketplace From American Public Media.
It is only a matter of time until before property owners will see rising insurance premiums and changes to the fine print on insurance coverage. Be sure to keep informed about the risks plumbing and construction failures, water damage, and natural disasters such as storms, flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes may pose to any property.
Substantiating the fears
Here are some notable disasters and their numbers:
- 2004-Dec 26 Indian Ocean Earthquake (magnitude 9.0) and Tsunami
- The disaster killed over 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and caused widespread damage throughout several continents
- 2005-Aug Hurricane Katrina (category 5)
- At least 1,836 people died in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods; total property damage was estimated at $81 billion, nearly triple the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
- 2005-Sep Hurricane Rita (category 5)
- Only a month after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, an even more powerful Rita (the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded) caused severe flooding and wind damage as well as the widespread evacuation of the Gulf Coast. Damage estimates from the storm were approximately $11.3 billion dollars.
- 2005-Oct Hurricane Wilma (category 5)
- Just when the US thought they had seen the worst the 2005 hurricane season could produce, Wilma materialized and made several landfalls, with the most destructive effects felt in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, Cuba, and in Florida. damage is estimated at $29.1 billion, $20.6 billion of which occurred in the United States alone.
- 2005-Oct 08 Kashmir Earthquake (magnitude 7.6)
- As of November 8, Pakistan’s official death toll was 75,000 and another three million were left homeless.
- 2008-May 12 Sichuan, China Earthquake (magnitude 7.9)
- About 70,000 people were killed and 18,000 people were reported missing. The earthquake left at least 5 million people without housing, although the number could be as high as 11 million. Estimated total damages exceed US$20 billion.
- 2010-Jan 12 Haiti Earthquake (magnitude 7.0)
- The quake killed approx 316,000 people. An estimated 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings were severely damaged and needed to be demolished
- 2010-2011 Queensland Australia Flooding
- The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was estimated at around A$1 billion
- 2011-Mar 11 Tōhoku / East Japan Earthquake (magnitude 9.0) & Tsunami
- As of April 20, official reports claim 15,188 deaths, 5,337 injured, and 8,742 people missing across eighteen prefectures, with numbers still being revised. Estimates of the cost of the damage range well into the tens of billions of US dollars; before-and-after satellite photographs of devastated regions show immense damage to many region
- 2011-April Super Outbreak, including Tuscaloosa AL Tornado (EF4)
- An extremely large and violent tornado outbreak occurred from April 25 to 28, 2011. The outbreak affected the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States, leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. At least 344 people were killed by the tornadoes and thunderstorm-related impacts such as straight-line winds, hail, flash flooding or lightning. The National Weather Service has determined the path length of the violent tornado that ravaged Tuscaloosa to be 80.3 miles with a maximum damage path width of 1.5 miles. As of May 3, in Tuscaloosa alone, damages were estimated to range $75 million-$100 million.
- 2011-May 22 Joplin Missouri Tornado (EF4)
- This half-mile-wide tornado killed at least 116 people when it blasted this Missouri town off the map and slammed straight into its hospital. It was the nation’s deadliest single twister in nearly 60 years and the second major tornado disaster in less than a month. As of the date of this post, damage estimates were still being tallied.
It only takes one severe weather or flood event to cause regret. The costs of water damage and flood recovery can easily accumulate if resolved quickly. Having insurance can minimize the costs of repairs and restoration.