CONTRIBUTION TO STATE ECONOMIES 
CATASTROPHES BY STATE

In 2005, 24 catastrophes generated a record $61.8 billion in insured property/casualty losses, according to ISO. The catastrophes resulted in more than 4 million personal and commercial property and automobile claims from policyholders in 39 states. Five states—Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Texas and Alabama—accounted for some 90 percent of those dollar losses, with most of the losses generated by five hurricanes—Katrina, Wilma, Rita, Ophelia and Dennis. The five hurricanes caused $57.7 billion in insured damages, or 93 percent of total 2005 catastrophe losses. (See Hurricanes section for more information on 2005 Hurricane losses).
STATES WITH THE HIGHEST CATASTROPHES LOSSES IN 2005

($000)


State
Losses
Louisiana$27,217,500
Mississippi12,259,000
Florida9,889,000
Texas2,850,000
Alabama1,457,000
Total (5 states)53,672,500
Source: ISO.
STATES WITH THE HIGHEST CATASTROPHES LOSSES IN 2006

($000)


State
Losses
Indiana$1,500,000
Missouri878,000
Tennessee873,000
Texas688,000
Kansas601,000
Total (5 states)4,540,000

Source: ISO.

TOP STATES WITH HIGHEST INSURED CATASTROPHE LOSSES, 2007

($ millions)


State
Estimated insured loss 
California $1,427
Minnesota 747
Texas677
Georgia320
Illinois272
Oklahoma270
Kansas262
Missouri223
New York202
Colorado200
Alabama200
Note: Catastrophes are assigned serial numbers by the Property Claim Services (PCS) division 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.

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$3,119.679%
New York  2,378.93,851.162
Texas  895.13,493.026
Massachusetts  772.81,426.454
New Jersey  635.51,875.234
Connecticut  479.9750.464
Louisiana  224.4638.435
South Carolina  191.9698.228
Virginia  158.81,409.411
Maine  146.9250.059
North Carolina  132.81,431.89
Alabama  92.5744.812
Georgia  85.61,573.35
Delaware  60.6170.836
New Hampshire  55.7237.423
Rhode Island  54.1189.329
Mississippi  51.8394.613
Maryland  14.91,078.41
All States Above  8,890.823,332.438
Total U.S.$8,890.8$53,495.017%
(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.

  • Despite the recent weakening of the real estate market in many areas, AIR says the insured value—or the cost to rebuild properties—has maintained an annual growth rate that will lead to a doubling of total value every decade.

  • The percentage of homes that are underinsured fluctuated from 73 percent in 2002 to 58 percent in 2006 to 66 percent in 2007, according to a Marshall & Swift/Boechk survey. Homes were undervalued by an average of 18 percent in 2007, down from 21 percent in 2006 and 35 percent in 2002.

INSURANCE PROVIDED BY FAIR PLANS BY STATE, 2006 (1)


State
Habitational policies
Commercial policies
Exposure ($000)
Direct written premiums ($000)
California193,61512,509$50,577,001$82,268
Connecticut 4,682297768,7284,717
Delaware2,963122295,795793
Florida (CPIC) (2)1,409,587137,691408,837,7793,400,400
Georgia (3)28,1671,5313,114,89716,625
Illinois9,970206769,0007,393
Indiana3,633128300,9532,210
Iowa1,4256594,079861
Kansas9,659251416,6764,300
Kentucky14,040926141,5337,872
Massachusetts216,07498268,607,352235,997
Michigan73,9522,01810,186,67472,684
Minnesota8,60031,839,5206,870
Mississippi 12,080(4)661,3607,626
Missouri8,928556421,1623,613
New Jersey41,9741,6315,440,13021,595
New Mexico12,687394671,9203,774
New York (3)60,7977,17212,927,08035,857
Ohio59,9831,38611,309,45630,267
Oregon4,225175322,1961,402
Pennsylvania37,3862,6252,079,02613,030
Rhode Island21,7081734,728,94223,776
Texas109,461(4)13,320,28559,873
Virginia37,0588713,944,09416,424
Washington905833,346187
West Virginia1,36411750,932795
Wisconsin5,191183NA2,297
Total2,389,299172,070$601,859,916$4,063,324
(1) Does not include the FAIR Plans of Arkansas, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Maryland, North Carolina and Louisiana Citizens.
(2) Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, which combined the FAIR and Beach Plans.
(3) Includes a wind and hail option for any dwelling including those in coastal communities.
(4) The Mississippi and Texas FAIR Plans do not offer a commercial policy.

NA= Data not available.

Source: Property Insurance Plans Service Office (PIPSO).

INSURANCE PROVIDED BY BEACH AND WINDSTORM PLANS, 2006 (1)


State
Habitational policies
Commercial policies
Exposure (2)
($000)
Direct written premiums
($000)
Mississippi28,8802,082$5,369,509$48,813
South Carolina27,0822,99211,179,09967,309
Texas140,37517,85838,313,022196,833
Total196,33722,932$54,861,630$312,955

(1) Does not include the FAIR Plans of Alabama and North Carolina and the Florida and Louisiana Citizens.
(2) Exposure is the estimate of the aggregate value of all insurance in force in each state’s Beach and Windstorm Plan in all lines (except liability, where applicable, and crime) for 12 months ending September through December.

Source: Property Insurance Plans Service Office (PIPSO).

TORNADOES AND RELATED DEATHS BY STATE, 2007 (1)


State
Tornadoes
Fatalities
Alabama4110
Alaska00
Arizona00
Arkansas160
California60
Colorado552
Connecticut20
Delaware00
D.C.00
Florida4921
Georgia4210
Hawaii00
Idaho30
Illinois230
Indiana180
Iowa420
Kansas13714
Kentucky300
Louisiana233
Maine10
Maryland20
Massachusetts10
Michigan233
Minnesota180
Mississippi330
Missouri423
Montana50
Nebraska470
Nevada00
New Hampshire00
New Jersey00
New Mexico232
New York30
North Carolina120
North Dakota381
Ohio120
Oklahoma502
Oregon20
Pennsylvania70
Puerto Rico10
Rhode Island00
South Carolina181
South Dakota440
Tennessee100
Texas1979
Utah10
Vermont00
Virginia20
Washington00
West Virginia10
Wisconsin180
Wyoming50
United States1,103 (2)81
(1) Data not yet final.
(2) Includes tornadoes that track from a touchdown state into another state.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Storm Prediction Center, National Weather Service.
TOP TEN STATES FOR WILDLAND FIRES BY NUMBER OF FIRES, 2007 (1)


Rank
State
Number of fires
Number of acres burned
1CA9,0931,087,110
2GA8,726837,895
3NC7,00054,658
4FL4,918578,346
5SC3,84217,064
6OK3,51969,907
7AL3,37364,262
8TN3,36148,572
9OR2,561648,046
10AZ2,240101,381

(1) Ranked by number of fires.

Source: National Interagency Coordination Center.

TOP TEN STATES FOR WILDLAND FIRES BY ACRES BURNED, 2007 (1)




Rank
State
Number of fires
Number of acres burned
1ID1,4731,980,552
2CA9,0931,087,110
3NV891890,414
4GA8,726837,895
5MT1,875778,079
6OR2,561648,046
7UT1,423620,730
8FL4,918578,346
9AK448525,017
10WA1,268214,925

(1) Ranked by number of acres burned.

Source: National Interagency Coordination Center.

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)
1Aug. 25-30, 2005AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, TNKatrina$41,100 $43,625
2Aug. 24-26, 1992FL, LAAndrew15,50022,902
3Oct. 24, 2005FLWilma10,30010,933
4Aug. 13-14, 2004FL, NC, SCCharley7,4758,203
5Sep. 15-21, 2004AL, DE, FL, GA, LA, MD, MS, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, TN, VA, WVIvan7,1107,803
6Sep. 17-22, 1989GA, NC, PR, SC, VA, U.S. Virgin IslandsHugo4,1957,013
7Sep. 20-26, 2005AL, AR, FL, LA, MS, TN, TXRita5,6275,973
8Sep. 3-9, 2004FL, GA, NC, NY, SCFrances4,5955,043
9Sep. 15-29, 2004DE, FL, GA, MD, NJ, NY, NC, PA, PR, SC, VAJeanne3,6554,011
10Sept. 21-28, 1998AL, FL, LA, MS, PR, U.S. Virgin IslandsGeorges2,9553,758
11Oct. 4, 1995FL, AL, GA, NC, SC, TNOpal2,1002,856
12Sep. 14-17, 1999NC, NJ, VA, FL, SC, PA, 10 other statesFloyd1,9602,439
13Sep. 11, 1992Kaui and Oahu, HIIniki1,6002,364
14Sep. 5, 1996NC, SC, VA, MD, WV, PA, OHFran1,6002,114
15Sep. 15-16, 1995PR, U.S. Virgin IslandsMarilyn8751,190
(1) Property coverage only.
(2) Adjusted to 2007 dollars by the Insurance Information Institute.

Source: ISO's Property Claim Services Unit; Insurance Information Institute.