Today is Thursday, September 28, 2023.
According to a recent report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this year of 2023 is already the worst year on record for billion-dollar climate disasters in the United States (US). And there are still about 3 months until the end of the year.
As of September 11, 2023, only in US there have been 23 confirmed weather / climate disaster events with losses exceeding US$1 billion each. These include 2 flooding events, 18 severe storm events, 1 tropical cyclone event, 1 wildfire event, and 1 winter storm event.
The 1980–2022 annual average was 8.1 events while for the most recent 5 years (2018–2022) it more than doubled to 18 events per year.
Click at the image below to navigate NOAA's report. You will be able to select specific views of the several types of hazards, from drought to flooding, from wildfire to severe storms, cyclones and winter storms.
Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of thousands of people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. Besides all these sufferings and damages, there is another consequence: insurance costs going higher.
In part due to more destructive wildfires and stronger hurricanes, major insurers are even reducing or stoping writing new policies in California, Florida and Louisiana.
An analysis from the nonprofit research group First Street Foundation shows that a significant portion of United States homeowners are at risk of their premiums spiking as insurers struggle to cover the increasing cost of rebuilding after disasters.
Properties in more than 1 in 10 American cities are at risk of premium spikes because of climate disasters, according to this analysis. Included in this list of cities are Miami and New Orleans.
Click here to read the press release and download the First Street Foundation report.
Last but not least, there is also growing concern with the Insurance sector itself that, because of higher insurance costs, homeowners choose more and more “go bare” without insurance.
Besides the human toll, this new economic burden usually and disproportionately impacting the world’s poorest, seem now also to be seriously felt by the world's richest "pockets".
