Insurers are preparing for an active hurricane season in the North Atlantic. Forecasters such as Colorado State University and the National Hurricane Center predict 17 to 25 named storms. This year could mark the third time in history the Atlantic hurricane name list would be exhausted, a meteorologist told AM Best TV.
Because of these conditions, insurers are creating new models that account for past storm trends to keep better track of liabilities. As a result, some insurers are deciding to pull out of high-risk markets like Florida and Louisiana—two states prone to heavy hurricane damage.
Insurers who are staying or entering these high-risk markets are using the new models, data and insight in hopes of making better informed decisions.
Insurance Information Institute President Sean Kevelighan urged residents of the Eastern seaboard and in the Gulf Sea area to understand their coverage ahead of storms and to prepare themselves to be more resilient.
Mark Bove, meteorologist and senior vice president of natural catastrophe solutions in the reinsurance division of Munich Reinsurance America, said that along with El Nino and La Nina, climate change plays a big part in the increase of major storms. According to Bove, the ocean is reaching August temperatures in mid-May, which is a big change from trends seven to 10 years ago.
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