Cats Where They Shouldn’t Be: ‘A Whole New Challenge’ for Claims Pros

November 28, 2023 by Elizabeth Blosfield

The number of global climate catastrophes and weather events costing at least $1 billion reached 23 in 2023, eclipsing the record of 22 set in 2020, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Executive Summary

"While hurricanes often allow time to prepare and marshal resources, more common catastrophes such as convective storms, wildfires and freezes offer little to no warning."

The observation from Allianz Commercial's Frank Sapio echoed other claims professionals interviewed by CM Deputy Editor Elizabeth Blosfield. They all rank catastrophe claims response as one of their biggest challenges, now complicated by the proliferation of nonmodeled events occurring in places where cats just didn't happen before.

Executive Summary “While hurricanes often allow time to prepare and marshal resources, more common catastrophes such as convective storms, wildfires and freezes offer little to no warning.”

The observation from Allianz Commercial’s Frank Sapio echoed other claims professionals interviewed by CM Deputy Editor Elizabeth Blosfield. They all rank catastrophe claims response as one of their biggest challenges, now complicated by the proliferation of nonmodeled events occurring in places where cats just didn’t happen before.

The NOAA announced the record-breaking figure through the end of August with four more months yet to play out this year.