When a wildfire engulfed the Canadian oil-sands boomtown of Fort McMurray two years ago, it hit insurance company Aviva PLC out of nowhere. The British firm had been active in Canada since 1835. Its actuaries long believed wildfire risk to homes in the area was almost nonexistent, it says. Yet flames on the town’s outskirts… Continue reading Climate Change Is Forcing the Insurance Industry to Recalculate
Tag: hurricane damage
The Rising Costs of Hurricanes
Counties along the U.S. shoreline that endured hurricane-strength winds from Florence in September experienced a surge in population from 1980 to 2017, with an increase of 95 people per square mile—more than double the density. Overall, Gulf and East Coast shoreline counties, those vulnerable to hurricane strikes, increased by 160 people per square mile, compared… Continue reading The Rising Costs of Hurricanes
Moody’s Pegs Florence’s Economic Cost at $38 Billion to $50 Billion
After a week of heavy rains and record flooding, initial estimates for the damage that Florence wrought on the Carolinas rank the storm among history’s top hurricanes, but far below last year’s trio of powerful cyclones. Moody’s Analytics on Friday estimated the economic cost of Florence to be between $38 billion and $50 billion including… Continue reading Moody’s Pegs Florence’s Economic Cost at $38 Billion to $50 Billion
FAA Approves State Farm’s Use of Drones to Assess Hurricane Damage
Insurer State Farm will be allowed to operate small, foam, fixed-wing drones to assess damage from Hurricane Florence across four states, after the Federal Aviation Administration deemed its aircrafts safe enough to do so, according to Bloomberg. The company will use eBee drones, manufactured by the SenseFly subsidiary of drone company Parrot. The unmanned aerial… Continue reading FAA Approves State Farm’s Use of Drones to Assess Hurricane Damage
Air Worldwide Estimates Florence Damage Between $1.7B and $4.6B
Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that industry insured losses resulting from Hurricane Florence’s winds and storm surge will range from $1.7 billion to $4.6 billion. Note that these estimates do not include the impact of the ongoing flooding from Hurricane Florence’s unprecedented precipitation. “Hurricane Florence, once a Category 4 storm, made landfall near… Continue reading Air Worldwide Estimates Florence Damage Between $1.7B and $4.6B