Twelve months ago, Superstorm Sandy struck one of the mostdensely populated areas of the United States, inflicting damage ona virtually unprecedented scale. The destructive storm killed anestimated 160 people in the U.S. and dozens more in theCaribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).It also caused billions in damages, affecting atleast 366,000 structures in New York and New Jersey.

“A year ago [today] Superstorm Sandy was just hitting the U.S.northeast," reflects Jeffrey T. Bowman, president and CEO atCrawford & Company. "Within a few days, it had caused more than$18 billion of damage and generated more than 1.5 million claimsacross more than a dozen states."

Today still more continue to suffer, as thousandsof residents in the hardest-hit areas in New York and New Jerseyremain displaced. Crawford & Company is quite familiar with thedeluge of claims generated by Sandy. Following last year'scatastrophe, the Atlanta, Georgia-based global insurer handledwhat it refers to as "record-setting losses," both in termsof claims volume and overall company responserequired. Crawford deployed more than 550 adjusters; receivedmore than 44,000 telephone calls; and handled more than 48,000claims covering 16 U.S. states and three countries.

In an effort to minimize future devastation from similarnatural disasters, Crawford is now drawing upon thoseexperiences to examine the far-ranging effectsof Sandy in the new white paper, "Superstorm Sandy a YearLater: A Record-setting Storm and a Record-setting Response."

In the white paper, which was released today,Crawford summarizes how Superstorm Sandy developed while chartingthe extent of damage it caused. Thecompany also delves into the larger discussionof how p&c insurers, as well as federal andlocal governments can mitigate loss when handlingfuture weather events.

“Superstorm Sandy a Year Later is a concise guide tounderstanding this catastrophic event and what it meant for theinsurance industry," Bowman adds. "[It focuses on] howfuture storms could be managed, and regulatory and legislativereforms that resulted from Sandy.”

At its peak, Superstorm Sandy was 1,000-miles wide with 90mile-per-hour winds. Its rare path drove it directly into thehigh-population states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut,resulting in projected economic losses just for those three statesreaching approximately $82 billion.

"Superstorm Sandy a Year Later" may be downloaded from Crawford'swebsite . Stay tuned for further analysis of Crawford'sresults.