2011 is in our rearview mirror, but that huge sound of relief coming from the insurance industry has been heard before. Losses caused by natural disasters in the U.S. reached more than $55 billion at year's end, and they have tallied an estimated $750 billion since 1980.
It's no secret that much of those losses did not have to occur. The lack of strong building codes or strong enforcement contributes to needless deaths and unnecessary destruction of property.
The Louisiana State University Hurricane Center estimated that stronger building codes would have reduced wind damage from Hurricane Katrina by 80 percent, saving taxpayers $8 billion. LSU also studied the impact that strong building codes would have had on a Category 3 storm in Mississippi, finding that storm damage would have been reduced by $3.1 billion, with nearly 40,000 buildings spared from destruction or significant damage.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
