Huge insurance losses from tornadoes in the States
Insured losses from the US tornado outbreak in April are estimated to be between $3.5bn and $6bn.
The storms took place from the 25th to the 28th of April with the state of Alabama being worst affected.
This state was hit by the majority of the violent tornadoes, accounting for approximately 70% of the overall loss.
305 tornadoes touched down during the April outbreak alone, which breaks the previous April monthly record of 267, and is more than double the April average of 161 tornadoes.
Matthew Nielsen, product manager at Risk Management Solutions stated: “This tornado outbreak is set to become one of, if not the, costliest severe convective storm event in U.S. history.”
The single largest US severe convective storm loss on record occurred in May 2003, causing $3.2bn of damage ($5bn in today’s money).
The event lasted nearly two weeks, with approximately 400 tornadoes, and affected Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Illinois, as well as several other states.
The estimates for insurances losses were provided by Risk Management solutions (RMS).
