Hurricanes in the East. Wildfires in the West. Those are the big disasters that grab the headlines and are driving property insurance costs and cancellations, to a large degree, right?
Yes, but insurers also are seeing a huge increase in unnamed convective storms, including tornadoes, derechos, other straight-line winds, hail and even lightning, especially in the Midwest and parts of the South, a trend that is having a growing impact on the cost of building projects.
And it’s all made more expensive by population and property growth in areas that were once considered relatively safe from major catastrophes.
That’s the view from Blake Berscheid, vice president of energy and complex property for Florida-headquartered Brown & Brown Insurance, on