III - Catastrophes: U.S.

FACTS AND STATISTICS

Catastrophes: U.S.

CATASTROPHES IN THE UNITED STATES

ISO defines a catastrophe as an event that causes $25 million or more in insured property losses and affects a significant number of property/casualty policyholders and insurers. The estimates in the following chart represent anticipated insured losses from catastrophes on an industrywide basis, reflecting the total net insurance payment for personal and commercial property lines of insurance covering fixed property, vehicles, boats, related-property items, business interruption and additional living expenses. They exclude loss-adjustment expenses. Catastrophe losses fell in 2006 and 2007, following record losses in 2005. At $6.7 billion, 2007 losses were at the lowest level since 2002 when losses totaled $5.9 billion in dollars when occurred. The number of catastrophes dropped from 33 events in 2006 to 23 in 2007, the lowest number since the 2004 total of 22 events. Catastrophe losses surged in 2008, reaching $22.1 billion in the first three quarters of the year.

THE TEN MOST COSTLY CATASTROPHES, UNITED STATES (1)

			Insured loss ($ millions)
Rank	Date	Peril	Dollars when occurred	In 2007 dollars (2)
1	Aug. 2005	Hurricane Katrina	$41,100	$43,625
2	Aug. 1992	Hurricane Andrew	15,500	22,902
3	Sep. 2001	World Trade Center, Pentagon terrorist attacks	18,779	21,981
4	Jan. 1994	Northridge, CA earthquake	12,500	17,485
5	Oct. 2005	Hurricane Wilma	10,300	10,933
6	Sep. 2008	Hurricane Ike	10,655	10,655 (3)
7	Aug. 2004	Hurricane Charley	7,475	8,203
8	Sep. 2004	Hurricane Ivan	7,110	7,803
9	Sep. 1989	Hurricane Hugo	4,195	7,013
10	Sep. 2005	Hurricane Rita	5,627	5,973
(1) Property coverage only. Does not include flood damage covered by the federally administered National Flood Insurance Program. (2) Adjusted to 2007 dollars by the Insurance Information Institute. (3) Estimated. Expressed in 2008 dollars. Source: ISO's Property Claim Services Unit; Insurance Information Institute.

INSURED LOSSES, U.S. CATASTROPHES, 1998-2007 (1)

Year	Number of catastrophes	Number of claims (millions)	Dollars when occurred ($ billions)	In 2007 dollars (2) ($ billions)
1998	37	3.6	$10.1	$12.8
1999	27	3.2	8.3	10.3
2000	24	1.5	4.6	5.5
2001	20	1.5	26.5	31.0
2002	25	1.8	5.9	6.8
2003	21	2.7	12.9	14.5
2004	22	3.4	27.5	30.2
2005	24	4.4	62.3	66.1
2006	33	2.3	9.2	9.5
2007	23	1.2	6.7	6.7
(1) Includes catastrophes causing insured losses to the industry of at least $25 million and affecting a significant number of policyholders and insurers. Does not include flood damage covered by the federally administered National Flood Insurance Program. (2) Adjusted to 2007 dollars by the Insurance Information Institute. Source: ISO's Property Claim Services Unit; Insurance Information Institute.

INFLATION-ADJUSTED U.S. CATASTROPHE LOSSES BY CAUSE OF LOSS, 1988-2007 (1)

(2007 $ billions)

(1) Catastrophes are all events causing direct insured losses to property of $25 million or more in 2007 dollars. Adjusted for inflation by ISO.
(2) Includes hurricanes and tropical storms.
(3) Excludes snow.
(4) Includes other geologic events such as volcanic eruptions and other earth movement.
(5) Does not include flood damage covered by the federally administered National Flood Insurance Program.
(6) Includes wildland fires.

Source: ISO's Property Claim Services Unit.

TOP STATES WITH HIGHEST INSURED CATASTROPHE LOSSES, 2007

($ millions)

State	Estimated insured loss (1)
California	$1,427
Minnesota	747
Texas	677
Georgia	320
Illinois	272
Oklahoma	270
Kansas	262
Missouri	223
New York	202
Colorado	200
Alabama	200
(1) Does not include flood damage covered by the federally administered National Flood Insurance Program. Note: Catastrophes are assigned serial numbers by the Property Claim Services (PCS) Unit of ISO when the insured loss to the industry resulting from an occurrence reaches at least $25 million and affects a significant number of policyholders and insurers. Source: ISO's Property Claim Services Unit.

TOP 15 MOST COSTLY HURRICANES IN THE UNITED STATES

($ millions)

				Estimated insured loss (1)
Rank	Date	Location	Hurricane	Dollars when occurred	In 2007 dollars (2)
1	Aug. 25-30, 2005	AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, TN	Katrina	$41,100	$43,625
2	Aug. 24-26, 1992	FL, LA	Andrew	15,500	22,902
3	Oct. 24, 2005	FL	Wilma	10,300	10,933
4	Sep. 12-14, 2008	AR, IL, IN, KY, LA, MO, OH, PA, TX	Ike	10,655	10,655 (3)
5	Aug. 13-14, 2004	FL, NC, SC	Charley	7,475	8,203
6	Sep. 15-21, 2004	AL, DE, FL, GA, LA, MD, MS, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV	Ivan	7,110	7,803
7	Sep. 17-22, 1989	GA, NC, PR, SC, VA, U.S. Virgin Islands	Hugo	4,195	7,013
8	Sep. 20-26, 2005	AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, TN, TX	Rita	5,627	5,973
9	Sep. 3-9, 2004	FL, GA, NC, NY, SC	Frances	4,595	5,043
10	Sep. 15-29, 2004	DE, FL, GA, MD, NJ, NY, NC, PA, PR, SC, VA	Jeanne	3,655	4,011
11	Sept. 21-28, 1998	AL, FL, LA, MS, PR, U.S. Virgin Islands	Georges	2,955	3,758
12	Oct. 4, 1995	FL, AL, GA, NC, SC, TN	Opal	2,100	2,856
13	Sep. 14-17, 1999	NC, NJ, VA, FL, SC, PA, 10 other states	Floyd	1,960	2,439
14	Sep. 11, 1992	Kaui and Oahu, HI	Iniki	1,600	2,364
15	Sep. 5, 1996	NC, SC, VA, MD, WV, PA, OH	Fran	1,600	2,114
(1) Property coverage only. Does not include flood damage covered by the federally administered National Flood Insurance Program. (2) Adjusted to 2007 dollars by the Insurance Information Institute. (3) Estimated. Expressed in 2008 dollars. Source: ISO's Property Claim Services Unit; Insurance Information Institute.

NUMBER OF TORNADOES AND RELATED DEATHS PER MONTH, 2007

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Storm Prediction Center, National Weather Service.

HOUSEHOLDS WITH DISASTER-PREPAREDNESS MEASURES

Source: Insurance Research Council: Public Attitude Monitor, 2003.

TOP TEN STATES IN COASTAL POPULATION GROWTH,
BY NUMBER OF PEOPLE ADDED, 1980-2003 (1)

(millions)

Rank	State	By people added	Rank	State	By people added
1	California	9.9	6	New York	1.6
2	Florida	7.1	7	New Jersey	1.2
3	Texas	2.5	8	Maryland	1.2
4	Washington	1.7	9	Michigan	0.8
5	Virginia	1.6	10	Massachusetts	0.7
(table continues)

VALUE OF INSURED COASTAL PROPERTIES VULNERABLE TO HURRICANES BY STATE, 2007 (1)

($ billions)

State	Coastal	Total exposure (2)	Coastal as a percent of total
Florida	$2,458.6	$3,119.6	79%
New York	2,378.9	3,851.1	62
Texas	895.1	3,493.0	26
Massachusetts	772.8	1,426.4	54
New Jersey	635.5	1,875.2	34
Connecticut	479.9	750.4	64
Louisiana	224.4	638.4	35
South Carolina	191.9	698.2	28
Virginia	158.8	1,409.4	11
Maine	146.9	250.0	59
North Carolina	132.8	1,431.8	9
Alabama	92.5	744.8	12
Georgia	85.6	1,573.3	5
Delaware	60.6	170.8	36
New Hampshire	55.7	237.4	23
Rhode Island	54.1	189.3	29
Mississippi	51.8	394.6	13
Maryland	14.9	1,078.4	1
Total, above states	$8,890.8	$23,332.4	38%
Total U.S.	$8,890.8	$53,495.0	17%
(1) Includes residential and commercial properties. Ranked by value of insured coastal property. (2) Total exposure is an estimate of the actual total value of all property in the state that is insured or can be insured, including the full replacement value of structures and their contents and the time value of business interruption coverage. Source: AIR Worldwide.

The insured value of properties in coastal areas of the United States grew at a compound annual rate of 7 percent in the three years from 2004 through 2007, according to an AIR Worldwide study. The study puts the insured value of coastal properties at $8.9 billion, or 17 percent of the insured value of properties in all states.

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