2021 proved to be yet another challenging year for property & casualty insurers. With lasting impacts of the global pandemic on critical supply chains, there were significant variations in reconstruction costs. These price and supply uncertainties were and continue to be a strain on response and recovery efforts to the wide range of major natural catastrophe events that occurred throughout the nation.

When a natural catastrophe hits a community, there can be significant long-term impacts. As a large portion of the local population leaves an area, local economies struggle, contributing to job displacement and the destruction of real estate and other assets. And even after reconstruction efforts are completed, the financial and social costs continue to be a burden on impacted areas.

CoreLogic data indicates that the combined sum of losses from major natural catastrophe events in 2021 totaled $56.92B. Wildfires, severe weather, hurricanes, and winter storms all contributed to this behemoth of a number. In the 2021 Climate Change Catastrophe Report, CoreLogic highlights the magnitude of damage coming from each of these perils, covering critical pieces of information such as dollars of property damage, reconstruction cost value, and number of homes impacted.

Using modern insurance solutions can play a significant role in addressing increasing climate change-induced hazard events and the impact they have on real estate economies. With nearly every property in the U.S. holding some exposure to hazard risk, it is critical for governments, insurers, mortgage servicers, and homeowners to work together to mitigate the impact. To learn more about resilience in the face of natural catastrophes, see the CoreLogic 2021 Climate Change Catastrophe Report.

By Saumi Shokraee