Thunderstorm damage losses are supplanting hurricane damage losses in the United States

The perpetrator of natural catastrophe losses in the United States appears to be changing, with severe thunderstorm losses supplanting hurricane losses as the chief culprit.

Overall, natural Natural catastrophe events in the United States are definitely on the upswing, with events in 2011 costing the U.S. and casualty insurance industry $35.9 billion — the fifth-most-expensive year on record.

Insurance Information Institute (III) president Robert P. Hartwig presented some sobering severe weather trends in his Mar. 27 presentation to the National Hurricane Center Conference in Orlando, Florida. His figures are sourced from the NOAA national weather service.

“There have been at least 150 natural disaster events every year since 2006,” Hartwig observed in his presentation. “Before 2006, there were no years with this many.”

Although hurricane damage tends to dominate media headlines, thunderstorms are now consistent producers of large-scale loss. “In recent years, non-tropical thunderstorms and tornadoes have caused most insured damage, supplanting tropical storms and hurricanes,” Hartwig’s presentation notes. “2011 was an especially expensive year for insured losses, and 2012 is starting off similarly.”

A slide in his presentation indicates “average thunderstorm losses [in the United States] are up more than five-fold since the early 1980s. Thunderstorm losses in 2011 totaled a record $25.8 billion.”

Hartwig says tornado losses are off to an “ominous” start in 2012.

The 2012 U.S. tornado count is thus far tracking to surpass the 1,897 tornadoes that swept through the country in 2011, although it remains below the pace set by the 2008 record of 2,194. The average annual number of tornadoes in the United States between 2005 and 2011 is 1,530.

Hartwig’s presentation indicates 9,417 “large hail” reports in the United States in 2011. Thus far in 2012, between January and Mar. 23, there have been 1,024 reports of “large hail events.”

U.S. figures show 18,685 wind damage reports causing extensive damage to homes and businesses between Jan. 1 and Dec. 27, 2011. Thus far in 2012, up to Mar. 23, there have been 1,312 reports of wind damage.

Overall, there were 29,996 severe weather reports in 2011, including the tornadoes, large hail and high wind figures cited above. In contrast, there have been 2,696 severe weather reports in the United States between Jan. 1 and Mar. 23, including 360 tornadoes.