Hurricane Andrew’s Enduring Impact on the U.S. Insurance Industry

In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew sent a two-pronged wake-up call to the U.S. insurance marketplace: The cost of natural disasters had been severely underestimated and property was much more vulnerable to destruction than expected.  The I.I.I.’s Lynne McChristian talked about the impact of the historic storm and the lessons learned at the National Hurricane Conference on April 18 in New Orleans.  Hurricane Andrew forced individuals, insurers, legislators, insurance regulators and state governments to come to grips with the necessity of preparing both financially and physically for unprecedented natural disaster.