Lightning Striking Again and Again: New I.I.I. Study Finds Increase in Lightning Claim Costs
NEW YORK, June 21, 2007 ? They say that lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but for insurers, it strikes over 250,000 times per year, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. In fact, the total cost of homeowners claims for damage due to lightning strikes has increased dramatically?up 20 percent over the last three years,
According to a new Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) analysis of homeowners insurance data, there were 256,000 lightning claims in 2006, causing about $882 million in insured losses. The I.I.I. puts the average claim for lightning at $3,446. By comparison, in 2004, there were about 278,000 lighting claims, which caused about $735 million in insured losses with the average claim totaling $2,646. The average cost per claim rose 30 percent between 2004 and 2006 even as the actual number of claims fell by nearly 8 percent.
?The paid losses are likely to increase to nearly one billion dollars in 2007, despite the declining number of claims, in part, because of the explosion in the number and value of consumer electronics in homes,? said Loretta Worters, vice president of the I.I.I. ?Wide screen TVs, home entertainment centers, multiple computer households, gaming systems and other expensive devices are having a significant impact on claims losses.?
