Feb 3 (Reuters) – Privately insured losses from the recent winter storm are estimated to be $6.7 billion, catastrophe risk modeling firm Karen Clark and Company said on Tuesday.
A major winter storm swept across parts of the eastern and southern U.S. in January, bringing heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain that knocked out power, created treacherous driving conditions and disrupted flights.
Insured losses from the storm make it one of the deadliest in recent times with its closest comparable event being the 2021 winter storm, according to analysts at brokerage firm UBS.
The 2021 winter storm resulted in catastrophe losses of between $15 billion and $20 billion for the insurance industry. Catastrophe losses have risen sharply in recent years, weighing on industry profits as insurers face large payouts for property damage, business interruptions and liability claims.
Annual global insured losses from natural catastrophes are expected to hit $107 billion in 2025, driven by the Los Angeles wildfires and severe convective storms in parts of the U.S., according to a study by Swiss Re.
Calling the January storm “historic,” President Donald Trump had approved federal emergency disaster declarations for a dozen states, mostly in the mid-South. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia had also declared weather emergencies.
“The ice felled trees and brought down power lines, which caused widespread power outages from east Texas to Kentucky, as well as southern New Mexico,” KCC said in its flash storm estimate.
“The highest per-customer rates of power outages occurred in a swath extending from north Louisiana through north Mississippi, and into west Tennessee.”
The firm also reported damage from burst pipes, with losses particularly pronounced in southern and southeastern states, where buildings are generally less equipped to withstand extreme cold.
KCC said the storm caused damage and insured losses in more than 30 states, with the largest estimated losses in Texas and Tennessee.
(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
