Facts + Statistics: Winter storms

Winter storms caused $2.1 billion in insured losses in 2019, compared with about $3 billion in 2018, according to Munich Re. Winter storms include winter damage and blizzards.

Overall And Insured Losses From Winter Storms In The United States, 1980-2019

(2019 $ billions)

overall_insured_winter_storm_losses_80-19.gif

Overall And Insured Losses From Winter Storms In The United States, 1980-2019

Source: © 2020 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of June 2020.

View Archived Graphs

U.S. Winter Storm Insured Loss Trends, 1980-2019

(2019 $ billions)

us_winterstorm_loss_trends_80-19.gif

U.S. Winter Storm Insured Loss Trends, 1980-2019

Source: © 2020 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of June 2020.

View Archived Graphs

Top 15 Costliest U.S. Winter Events By Insured Losses, 1980-2019 (1)

($ millions)

        Losses when occurred    
Rank Date Event Location Overall Insured (2) In 2019 dollars (3) Deaths
1 Mar. 11-14, 1993 Blizzard  AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MA, MD,
ME, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA,
RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WV		 $5,000 $2,000 $3,573 270
2 Feb. 16-25, 2015 Winter storm,
winter damage		 AR, CT, DC, DE, IL, KY, LA, MA, MD,
ME, MI, MS, NC, NH, NJ,NY, OH,
PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT		 2,800 2,100 2,295 39
3 Dec. 17-30, 1983 Winter damage,
cold wave		 FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD,
MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NJ,
NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA,
RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA,
WA, WV, WI, WY		 1,000 880 2,229 500
4 Apr. 13-17, 2007 Winter storm,
tornado, floods		 CT, DE, GA, LA, MA, MD, ME, MS, NC,
NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, TX, VA, VT, WV		 2,000 1,600 1,986 19
5 Jan. 5-8, 2014 Winter damage,
cold wave 		 AL, CT, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME,
MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY,
OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WI		 2,500 1,700 1,865 NA
6 Dec. 10-13, 1992 Winter storm CT, DE, NJ, NY, MA, MD, NE,
PA, RI, VA		 3,000 1,000 1,808 19
7 Mar. 1-3, 2018 Winter storm CT, DE, DC, MD, MA, NJ, NY,
NC, PA, RI, VA		 2,300 1,600 1,645 9
8 Mar. 13-15, 2010 Winter storm
(Nor'Easter), floods		 CT, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI 1,700 1,200 1,415 11
9 Jan. 17-20, 1994 Winter damage,
cold wave		 CT, DE, IN, IL, KY, MA, ME, MD,
NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI,
SC, TN, VA, VT, WV		 1,000 800 1,404 70
10 Feb. 10-12, 1994 Winter damage AL, AR, GA, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC,
TN, TX, VA		 3,000 800 1,399 9
11 Apr. 7-11, 2013 Winter storm CA, IN, KS, MO, NE, SD, WI 1,500 1,200 1,324 NA
12 Jan. 1-4, 1999 Winter storm AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA,
MO, MA, MD, ME, MS, NC, NJ, NY,
OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV		 1,000 780 1,218 25
13 Jan. 31-Feb. 3, 2011 Winter storm,
snowstorms,
winter damage		 CT, IA, IL, IN, KS, MA, ME, MO,
NY, OH, PA, RI, TX, WI		 1,300 980 1,136 36
14 Jan. 4-9, 2008 Winter storm AR, CA, CO, IL, IN, KS, MI, MO,
NE, NY, OH, OK, OR, WA, WI		 1,000 750 912 12
15 Mar. 8-17, 2019 Winter storm,
blizzard, flood		 NE, CO, TX, IO, KY, MI, NM,
WI, MO, SD, ND		 4,700 800 800 6

(1) Costliest U.S. blizzards and winter storms/damages based on insured losses when occurred, as of June 2020.
(2) Based on property losses including, if applicable, agricultural, offshore, marine, aviation and National Flood Insurance Program losses in the United States and may differ from data shown elsewhere.
(3) Adjusted for inflation through 2019 by the Insurance Information Institute using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator.

NA=Data not available.

Source: © 2020 Munich Re, NatCatSERVICE, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Insurance Information Insitute.

View Archived Tables

Natural Catastrophe Losses In The United States, 2019

(Based on perils; US$ millions)

nat_cats_losses_in_the_us_19.gif

Natural Catastrophe Losses In The United States, 2019

Source: © 2020 Munich Re, NatCatSERVICE; Property Claim Services (PCS®)*, a Verisk Analytics® business. As of June 2020.

View Archived Graphs

Back to top