Last year was relatively quiet when it came to catastrophe claims, both globally and in the U.S., and early forecasts say this year is likely to follow suit.
Total insured losses from natural disasters were $16.1 billion in 2015, with nearly 60% of these losses coming from severe thunderstorms. Hurricane activity, suppressed by strong El Nino forces, resulted in a mere $60 million of insured losses, well below the 10-year average of $6.5 billion.
Historically, hurricanes are responsible for the great majority of catastrophe claims. Among the 10 most expensive U.S. natural disasters, seven are hurricanes, collectively totaling nearly $125 trillion in damages — and that’s just since Hurricane Andrew struck the Atlantic Coast in 1992. Other high-cost catastrophes include earthquakes, tornadoes and fires, all of which make an appearance on our list.
Keep reading to view 10 catastrophes that have had a devastating impact on U.S. property — and on the property-casualty insurance business.
In this June 22, 2012 photo, a concrete block safe room sits on a home's foundation near Forest Lake in Tuscaloosa, Ala., after a tornado roared through on April 27, 2011. (Photo: Bill Sikes/AP Photo)
|10. Flooding, hail and wind, including the tornadoes that struck Tuscaloosa and other locations (April 2011)
Dollars when occurred: $7.3 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $7.65 billion.
Fatalities: 64.
Wooden stilts that were once a home sit in the foreground as workers rebuild a home, April 12, 2006, in Dauphin Island, Ala. Pounded by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and then Katrina the next year, Dauphin Island hardly resembles the paradise days of its past. About 300 beach homes were destroyed by the two storms, and as many as 50 lots are now in the Gulf of Mexico, which constantly reshapes this narrow spit of sand. (Photo: Rob Carr/AP Photo)
|9. Hurricane Ivan (September 2004)
Dollars when occurred: $7.11 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $8.64 billion.
Fatalities: 123.
Juan Guzman, left, and Rico Hernandez worked on clearing the large fallen tree on Captiva Island, Fla., on Aug. 18, 2004, as residents on Sanibel and Captiva Islands were allowed to return home to check on their property for the first time since Hurricane Charley passed through. (Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo)
|8. Hurricane Charley (August 2004)
Dollars when occurred: $7.48 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $9.08 billion.
Fatalities: 15 direct.
A street sign was blown off its post by winds from Hurricane Wilma at the Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer park in Punta Gorda, Fla., just after sunrise on the morning of Oct. 24, 2005. The residents of the park were displaced residents of Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte after Hurricane Charley tore through the area last year. (Photo: Chris O'Meara/AP Photo)
|7. Hurricane Wilma (October 2005)
Dollars when occurred: $10.3 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $12.14 billion.
Fatalities: 62.
Tourists and residents evacuated northwards on the Overseas Highway in Key Largo, Fla., on the morning of Sept. 6, 2008, after a mandatory non-resident evacuation was announced in advance of Hurricane Ike. (Photo: John Watson-Riley/AP Photo)
|6. Hurricane Ike (September 2008)
Dollars when occurred: $12.5 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $13.64 billion.
Fatalities: 195.
John Rimer of Lawrence, Ga., went through the rubble of his sister's apartment on Jan. 20, 1994, in Santa Monica, Calif., which was destroyed in a gas explosion following a 6.6 earthquake. (Photo: Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)
|5. Northridge, Calif., earthquake (January 1994)
Dollars when occurred: $12.5 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $18.35 billion.
Fatalities: 57.
A parking lot full of yellow cabs was flooded as a result of superstorm Sandy on Oct. 30, 2012, in Hoboken, N.J. (Photo: Charles Sykes/AP Photo)
|4. Superstorm Sandy (October 2012)
Dollars when occurred: $18.75 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $19.31 billion.
Fatalities: 285.
Palm and coconut trees snapped back during a gust as other trees littered Ocean Drive in the Art Deco section of Miami Beach, Fla., Aug. 24, 1992. Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida with wind speeds as high as 160-mph before moving into the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo: Charles Krupa/AP Photo)
|3. Hurricane Andrew (August 1992)
Dollars when occurred: $15.5 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $23.79 billion.
Fatalities: 65.
In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, firefighters worked beneath the destroyed mullions, the vertical struts which once faced the soaring outer walls of the World Trade Center towers, after a terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York City. The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., killed almost 3,000 people and lead to a war in Afghanistan. (Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP Photo)
|2. Fire, explosion: World Trade Center, Pentagon terrorist attacks (September 2001)
Dollars when occurred: $18.78 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $24.28 billion.
Fatalities: 2,606.
A large tree was uprooted because Hurricane Katrina in Ft. Lauderdale Beach, Fla., Aug. 26, 2005. Hurricane Katrina flooded streets, darkened homes and felled trees as it plowed across South Florida before emerging over the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo: Jeff Christensen/AP Photo)
|1. Hurricane Katrina (August 2005)
Dollars when occurred: $41.1 billion.
In 2014 dollars: $48.38 billion.
Fatalities: 1,245–1,836.
Editor’s Note: This data, collected by Jersey City, N.J.-based Property Claim Services accounts only for property losses. It excludes flood damage covered by the federally administered National Flood Insurance Program.
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