In the US, severe convective storms account for an average annual loss of more than $17 billion among the insured. Of those losses, hail damage accounts for more than $11 billion, CoreLogic first ever Severe Convective Storm report revealed, among other notable findings.
Severe convective storms include straight-line winds, tornadoes, hail and severe thunderstorms, and are among the most frequent and damaging natural hazard events in the United States.
Peaking from March through June, these storms are the biggest cause of weather-related property damage nationwide, according to the report.
The atmospheric changes that bring on severe storms cover broad distances. That, experts explained, combined with a lack of knowledge and studies of the impact of severe convective storms on rural areas, makes it difficult to develop quantitative assessments of the risk of severe convective storms on all properties across the country.
In order to protect people, homes, businesses and building storm resilient communities an accurate assessment of the risk is needed. This also enables property insurers to formulate data-driven predictions to adopt forward-thinking business models that optimise their claims intake and response procedures
Preparing for a severe convective storm season involves looking at areas that are more at risk than others; the report found that Texas, Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado, and Oklahoma are at highest risk of being impacted by hailstorms.
In total, there are 20,416,763 single-family homes with high hailstorm risk in the US. Last year, more than one million homes across the country were damaged by hail, causing damage to homes, automobiles and agriculture.
The average annual loss from convective storms among the insured in the US is $17 billion – $11 billion of that was due to hail damage. In 2022, eleven severe convective storm events took place, resulting in more than $1 billion in losses.
Tools like CoreLogic’s Weather Verification Services – a series of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) based digital tools and forensic information – could be used by insurers to monitor storm activity and implement the best possible catastrophe response procedures for hazard-prone areas, the company noted.
“Severe convective storms cause significant property damage in the U.S. for both the insured and uninsured, so it is crucial to establish storm resilient communities and for insurers to improve how fast they respond to and repair damage from these events,” analysts highlighted..
The report also found that extreme winds in excess of 80 mph affected more than half a million homes in 2022 with Texas, South Carolina, California, South Dakota and Indiana among the top five.
Additionally, almost 8,000 homes across the US were affected by tornado damage last year, with approximately 233 homes immediately impacted by the wind spiral of the tornado. The five states that sustained the most damage were Texas, Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Mississippi.
CoreLogic also highlighted that, in addition to the Severe Convective Storm report, it has new intel around the devastating EF-4 tornado that touched down in Mississippi, estimating that approximately 4,100 single and multifamily residential properties with a combined reconstruction value (RCV) of $881 million were potentially within the tornado path.
