Stricter building codes adopted since 1975 have reduced the average expected annual loss in the U.S. by 60%-65%, but changes in hurricane activity increased risk by 25% and the value of property exposed to storms had risen by over 120%, leading to a net increase of upwards of 80% exposure. Credit: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg Stricter building codes adopted since 1975 have reduced the average expected annual loss in the U.S. by 60%-65%, but changes in hurricane activity increased risk by 25% and the value of property exposed to storms had risen by over 120%, leading to a net increase of upwards of 80% exposure. Credit: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Florida has been toughening up building codes and touting them as a way to prevent large-scale damage in the wake of strengthening storms. But a new report by Swiss Re, one of the world's largest providers of reinsurance, finds that added risk from population growth and development in storm-prone areas dwarfs the benefits of these beefed-up codes.

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