The devastating winds and storm surges of Hurricane Sandy may have died down, but the long, expensive slog of sorting out the damage has just begun. Here are some perspectives from our sister site, PropertyCasualty360, on what comes next. Click the links to read the full stories.
On the Ground: Perspectives on Sandy From Hoboken, N.J., Staff
The PropertyCasualty360 staff is used to hearing and writing about catastrophes, but it is rare for so many of us to be in the middle of a severe weather event ourselves. For those of us who work out of Summit Business Media's Hoboken office, we simply do not see the types of extreme weather that many of our readers to the south, west and even north of us regularly contend with.
So when "Superstorm" Sandy struck, it was jolting for us. Scarier still is the thought that other areas of the country are almost annually under threat from hurricanes with far higher wind speeds.
For those of us with access to power and computers, we decided take advantage of our firsthand experiences with Sandy by providing images and accounts of the damage and aftermath.
Karen Clark & Co.: Sandy's Wind Damage Alone to Cause $12B in Insured Losses
The woman who created the catastrophe modeling industry estimates insured wind losses due to Superstorm Sandy will be $12 billion.
Karen Clark, who in 2007 founded Karen Clark & Co. after starting what is now AIR Worldwide in the mid-1980s, says New York was hit by the strongest sustained winds from Sandy. Wind gusts peaked at between 70 mph and 80 mph in places like JFK Airport and Long Island, N.Y.
According to Karen Clark & Co.'s RiskInsight product—which allows insurers and reinsurers to estimate company-specific losses—there were no recorded sustained hurricane-force winds in New Jersey but because winds are not measured in all areas, it's possible that the New Jersey coast did experience winds of this strength. A large majority of claims can be expected from New York and New Jersey.
Residential insurers can expect more than 650,000 claims for wind damage, according to RiskInsight. Commercial insurers can expect in excess of 100,000 claims. Auto claims are not included in the analysis of insured wind losses.
Higher Rates, Lack of Coverage Likely After States' Hurricane Deductible Decision: Industry Rep
