Why Severe Convective Storm Losses Are Increasing
April 9, 2018
Over the past several years, insurers have experienced large losses from severe convective storms (SCS). Multi-billion dollar events are increasing in frequency; in 2011, two major events caused over $7 billion of insured losses each. In 2016, a single hailstorm in Texas resulted in losses exceeding $3 billion. The first quarter of 2017 set a record with over $6 billion of insured loss. Exposure growth alone leads to rising losses over time, but recent storm activity suggests additional factors could be at work.