Twelve months ago, Superstorm Sandy struck one of the most densely populated areas of the United States, inflicting damage on a virtually unprecedented scale. The destructive storm killed an estimated 160 people in the U.S. and dozens more in the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). It also caused billions in damages, affecting at least 366,000 structures in New York and New Jersey.
“A year ago [today] Superstorm Sandy was just hitting the U.S. northeast," reflects Jeffrey T. Bowman, president and CEO at Crawford & Company. "Within a few days, it had caused more than $18 billion of damage and generated more than 1.5 million claims across more than a dozen states."
Today still more continue to suffer, as thousands of residents in the hardest-hit areas in New York and New Jersey remain displaced. Crawford & Company is quite familiar with the deluge of claims generated by Sandy. Following last year's catastrophe, the Atlanta, Georgia-based global insurer handled what it refers to as "record-setting losses," both in terms of claims volume and overall company response required. Crawford deployed more than 550 adjusters; received more than 44,000 telephone calls; and handled more than 48,000 claims covering 16 U.S. states and three countries.
In an effort to minimize future devastation from similar natural disasters, Crawford is now drawing upon those experiences to examine the far-ranging effects of Sandy in the new white paper, "Superstorm Sandy a Year Later: A Record-setting Storm and a Record-setting Response."
In the white paper, which was released today, Crawford summarizes how Superstorm Sandy developed while charting the extent of damage it caused. The company also delves into the larger discussion of how p&c insurers, as well as federal and local governments can mitigate loss when handling future weather events.
“Superstorm Sandy a Year Later is a concise guide to understanding this catastrophic event and what it meant for the insurance industry," Bowman adds. "[It focuses on] how future storms could be managed, and regulatory and legislative reforms that resulted from Sandy.”
At its peak, Superstorm Sandy was 1,000-miles wide with 90 mile-per-hour winds. Its rare path drove it directly into the high-population states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, resulting in projected economic losses just for those three states reaching approximately $82 billion.
"Superstorm Sandy a Year Later" may be downloaded from Crawford's website . Stay tuned for further analysis of Crawford's results.
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