Reinsurance broker Gallagher Re has pegged preliminary insured losses from the persistent flooding and severe weather across the central and southern US in early April at between $1 billion and $3 billion, but warns that this initial range is subject to change.
The loss estimate range provided by the broker combines those incurred by the private insurance industry and federally run insurance schemes, including the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the USDA’s Risk Management Agency crop insurance program.
Of the total damages, most of the wind and hail-related damage from the outbreak is expected to be covered by insurance. The bulk of the flood-related property damage, however, is likely to be largely uninsured as NFIP take-up rates were extremely low in most of the hardest-hit counties, explains Gallagher Re.
The broker also explains that in many instances, fewer than 1% of homes in hard-hit counties across Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas had active NFIP coverage.
Preliminary assessments indicate that the overall financial toll from the April 1-7 SCS outbreak and floods will be extensive, given the considerable losses to homes, commercial assets, automobiles, and agriculture recorded in the Midwest, Mid-South and Lower Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys.
Insured SCS losses have accelerated quickly in recent weeks due to high-impact outbreaks during the second half of March into early April. This included more than 220 confirmed tornadoes and hundreds of reports of hail and severe winds, resulting in extensive damage to residential and commercial properties.
This severe spring storm caused a multi-day severe weather outbreak in the central and southern US. According to reports, the outbreak included a rare High Risk (level 5 of 5) severe weather warning by NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center on April 2nd and a Moderate Risk (level 4 of 5) on April 4th and 5th.
The stalled weather pattern led to torrential rainfall and catastrophic flooding across parts of the Mid-South and Lower Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys through April 7th. Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas were among the hardest-hit states. Some areas received more than a foot of rain, while several locations in Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois recorded over 10 inches, reports the broker.
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