Dorothy had her concerns about lions, tigers and bears—and rightfully so. However, many carriers and agents would be happy with only three concerns, instead of with hail storms, flooding, wild fires, tornados, hurricanes, structure fires and water damage, lightning strikes—and the list goes on with potential hazards for homes and commercial structures. One of the growing threats in recent years has been hail storms. While the number of storms and the number of claims vary year to year, the cost of the claims has been increasing.
From 2014 through 2016 hail loss claims have increased 16%, according to a National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) report. The top states, 2014-2016, for hail loss claims were Texas (28%), Colorado (10%), Nebraska (7%) and Missouri (6%)¹.
So far in 2017, hail continues to be an expensive issue. In addition to many smaller storms, NOAA has included three events on their list of Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters².
- In March 2017 wind and hail storms caused damage in Texas, which combined with tornadoes, high wind and hail storms in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama resulted in $2.1 billion in damage.
- The May 8 hailstorm in Colorado is estimated to have caused $2.2 billion in insured losses for automobile and homeowners. This storm is expected to be Colorado’s most expensive insured disaster³.
- June 2017 storms with hail and high winds in the upper Midwest caused an estimated $2.5 billion in damages.
“Three 2017 events are on the billion-dollar disaster list.”
Although vehicle damage is included in these claim estimates, the majority of the costs are the result of property damage, especially to roofs. These claims for hail damage to roofs point to the need for a roof cover valuation tool to align exposures and premium. Even partial losses can mean unexpected, out-of-pocket expenses for property owners if they are underinsured. Insurance professionals can help their customers by encouraging them to insure their property to value.
As the leading provider of web-based property valuation solutions, e2Value can assist you with all of your Insurance-to-Value (ITV) and collateral value monitoring needs. Whether you are looking for valuations for high-value homes, Mainstreet® homes, condos, co-ops, commercial properties, manufactured homes, log cabins, or farms and ranches, our patented estimator can quickly calculate the cost of replacing a residential, commercial or farm structure and provide you with a fast, cost-effective and accurate replacement cost valuation.
¹https://www.nicb.org/home
²NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2017). https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/
³Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA) http://www.rmiia.org/news_room/catastrophe_news/2017_05_23_Insurance_News_Colorado_Hail_Storm_Breaks_Records.dwt