A new report by Karen Clark & Co. says storms capable of major losses are not as infrequent as we might assume. In fact, the United States can anticipate insured losses of at least $10 billion from a hurricane an average of every four years, based on an analysis of more than a century of hurricane experience.
Using a new methodology, Clark's firm ran nearly 180 U.S land-falling hurricanes through a formula to determine which storms would likely cause at least $10 billion of insured losses if they were to strike today.
The results of Clark's multi-month-long project shift the common perception of the worst storms in terms of insured loss due to denser areas, especially on the coast, as well as larger and more valuable buildings that exist today. For example, 2005's Hurricane Katrina—known as the costliest hurricane in U.S. history at about $40 billion—falls to the seventh position on this new list.
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