With extreme storms becoming the “new normal” in the U.S., insurance fraud experts are warning insurance agents about how to advise their customers—especially the elderly–about an increase in bogus repair work by shady contractors.
Most home contractors are honest. But extreme weather will attract more shady operators whose bogus repairs can cost homeowners thousands of dollars, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, an alliance of consumer groups, insurance companies and government agencies.
A new report by Environment America, based on data from the National Climatic Data Center, finds that extreme rainstorms and snowstorms in the U.S. are happening 30 percent more frequently on average since 1948. Heavy downpours that used to happen once every 12 months on average now happen every 9 months on average. Moreover, the biggest storms are getting bigger. The largest annual storms nationwide now produce 10 percent more precipitation on average than they did 65 years ago.
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