Category Archives: Disaster Preparedness

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Hurricane Katrina Recovery By the Numbers

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In anticipation of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina next week, the Insurance Information Institute collated data on the range of damage it caused, including insurance claims by coverage and state, National Flood Insurance Program losses, and other sources of recovery funds. The costliest hurricane in U.S. history, Katrina killed 1,800 people and cost $125 billion in total economic losses. Such catastrophic losses do not just demonstrate the impact of megadisasters, however.

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As the III points out, while “awareness of flooding due to coastal storms rises, so too does the population of coastal communities.

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”

Check out the infographic below for a look at Hurricane Katrina’s total toll and key takeaways:

hurricane katrina damage infographic

Katrina’s Lessons in Windstorm Risk Management

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Hurricane Katrina, which pummeled the Gulf Coast of the United States 10 years ago on Aug. 29, has proven to be the deadliest and costliest disaster on record. The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active in recorded history with more than 30 tropical and subtropical storms, including 15 hurricanes.

According to the study, Hurricane Katrina 10: Catastrophe Management and Global Windstorm Peril Review by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, it was predicted that hurricanes would become more frequent and intense after 2005, however, “In reality, the exact opposite has occurred,” Andrew Higgins, technical manager, Americas at Allianz Risk Consulting explained in the report. Instead, there has been a reduction in Atlantic hurricane activity during the last 10 years, with 2013 seeing the fewest Atlantic basin hurricanes since 1983. “These results illustrate the fact that we do not fully understand the complex climate variables that affect hurricane activity,” he said.

Because Katrina’s impact was so devastating and widespread, many changes have since been made. New Orleans has built a new system of levees, for example. Flooding caused by Katrina revealed the state of the levee systems in the U.S. to be substandard and in need of repairs estimated at $100 billion,the National Committee on Levee Safety found. “There are many levee systems throughout the U.S. that would reveal similar deficiencies if subjected to the same level of scrutiny as those in New Orleans,” according to the study.

“Katrina will always be remembered as an extraordinary natural disaster that affected millions of individuals and businesses and left an indelible impact on the global insurance industry,” Hugh Burgess, head of corporate lines at AGCS, said in a statement. “Even without considering the influence of climate change, the prospect of increasing losses due to storms is more of a result of continued economic development in hazard-prone developed coastal areas. Preparedness limits windstorm exposure and Katrina has taught us many lessons on this front.”

Top lessons from Hurricane Katrina:

1. Storm surge impact and risk modeling

“Storm surge modeling prior to Katrina essentially assumed that the height of the storm surge was a function of the maximum sustained winds,” Higgins said. “Katrina clearly showed that there are other factors that affect storm surge height… We have learned that in addition to wind speed, the physical size of the hurricane can affect the storm surge. Camille’s hurricane-force winds extended 60 miles from the storm center, while Katrina’s extended 120 miles. The larger size of Katrina was a major factor in pushing more water onto the shore.”

2. Flooding threat

The flooding caused by Katrina showed that the conditions of the levee systems in the U.S. are very poor. “The 2013 Report Card for America’s infrastructure developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers rates the levees in the U.S. as a D-,” Higgins said.

3. Wind damage prevention

Substantial wind damage occurred to structures that experienced hurricane force winds from Katrina, despite the fact that the recorded wind speeds were less than the wind design speeds. So what happened? “Most of the wind damage occurred to the building envelope,” Higgins explained. “That includes the roof covering, walls and windows. If the building codes had been strictly followed, the wind damage would have been greatly reduced. Poor workmanship and a lack of knowledge were the primary culprits.” He added, “Today, the Gulf Coast is in a better position to withstand the effects of a hurricane due to better education, improved construction guidelines and increased third party inspection.”

4. The importance of business continuity

After widespread catastrophes businesses typically relocate, meaning the client base can diminish until recovery progresses. The key to recovery is to establish a plan in advance that identifies clear priorities for attention to crucial operations, so the business can get back up-and-running as quickly as possible.

5. Insurance coverage issues

While insurance claims settlement levels from Katrina were high, it’s imperative to know what’s protected ahead of time. Many insureds were surprised to find out they were not covered for storm surge losses, the main coverage issue resulting from the storm. Whether damage was caused by wind or water became a key focus of post-Katrina litigation.

6.  Unexpected impact of demand surge

Demand surge is a post-catastrophe complication which can have not only catastrophe-related consequences in terms of rising prices due to a shortage of available goods, but other loss consequences as well. For example, a shortage of American-made drywall because of the demands of rebuilding led to a significant increase in imports of defective drywall manufactured in China. This resulted in a number of environmental issues and eventual litigation, particularly in the storm-affected states of Florida and Louisiana.

Allianz concluded that businesses need to start early to prepare for the worst-case scenario. “Businesses need to be sure to have tested business continuity plans and especially communications cascades in place and have insurance policies at a safe location,” advised Andreas Shell, Head of short-tail claims at AGCS. “Creating a separate booking account to which businesses can record hurricane-related damages to easily identify the loss incurred can also help.”

Terry Campbell, regional claims head, Americas at AGCS noted that every company should take these steps to ensure the claims settlement process runs as smoothly as possible after a windstorm event: “Follow the protocol outlined in the catastrophe response plan. If there isn’t one in place, one should be immediately developed for that event. Ensure there is adequate staff to respond and that there is ongoing communication to include scheduled meetings to discuss progress as well as issues, problems etc. These can be done as frequently as necessary,” he said.

Cyber Blackout Could Cost Insurers $71 Billion, Lloyd’s Reports

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A cyberattack targeting the U.S. power grid would have widespread economic implications, resulting in insurance claims of between $21.4 billion and $71.1 billion in a worst case scenario, according to a report by Lloyd’s.

Lloyd’s and the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Risk Studies recently released “Business Blackout,” which examines the insurance implications of a major cyberattack using the U.S. power grid as an example. In the scenario outlined, malware is used to infect control rooms for generating electricity in areas of the Northeastern U.S. The malware goes undetected and locates 50 generators that it can control, forcing them to overload and burn out. The scenario, described as “improbable but technologically possible,” leaves 15 states in darkness, meaning that 93 million people are without power.

Economic impacts include direct damage to assets and infrastructure, decline in sales revenue to electricity supply companies, loss of sales revenue for businesses and disruption to the supply chain. The total impact to the U.S. economy is estimated at $243 billion, rising to more than $1 trillion in the most extreme version of the scenario.

Claimant types fell into six categories:

Power generation companies

• Property damage to their generators.

• Business interruption from being unable to sell electricity as a result of property damage.

• Incident response costs and fines from regulators for failing to provide power.

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Defendant companies

• Companies sued by power generation businesses to recover a proportion of losses incurred under defendants’ liability insurance.

Companies that lose power – companies that suffer losses as a result of the blackout.

• Property losses (principally to perishable cold store contents).

• Business interruption from power loss (with suppliers extension).

• Failure to protect workforces or causing pollution as a result of the loss of power.

Companies indirectly affected – a separate category of companies that are outside the power outage but are impacted by supply chain disruption emanating from the blackout region.

• Contingent business interruption and critical vendor coverage.

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• Share price devaluation as a result of having inadequate contingency plans may generate claims under their directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.

Homeowners

• Property damage, principally resulting from fridge and freezer contents defrosting, covered by contents insurance.

Specialty

• Claims possible under various specialty covers, most importantly event cancellation.

 Other key findings of the report include:

• Responding to these challenges will require innovation by insurers. The pace of innovation will likely be linked to the rate at which some of the uncertainties revealed in this report can be reduced.

• Cyberattack represents a peril that could trigger losses across multiple sectors of the economy.

• A key requirement for an insurance response to cyber risks will be to enhance the quality of data available and to continue the development of probabilistic modelling.

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• The sharing of cyberattack data is a complex issue, but it could be an important element for enabling the insurance solutions required for this key emerging risk.

FM Global Teaches Explosive Safety Lessons

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FM Global Fire Hazard Lab

This week, I ventured up to West Glocester, Rhode Island, home of the coolest place any insurance broker, insurance client, or risk management journalist can visit: the FM Global Research Campus.

Hurricane Force Wind Simulation

Because FM Global is intently focused on prevention of loss as the chief means of minimizing claims, the company maintains a 1,600-acre campus dedicated to property loss prevention scientific research. The biggest center of its kind, the research center features some of the most advanced technology to conduct research on fire, natural hazards, electrical hazards, and hydraulics. Here, experts can recreate clients’ warehouse conditions to test whether existing suppression practices would be sufficient in the event of a massive fire, for example.
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Fabricated hail or seven-foot 2x4s are shot from a cannon-like instrument at plywood, windows, or roofing to test whether these materials can withstand debris that goes flying in hurricane-strength winds. Hydraulic, mechanical and environmental tests are conducted on components of fire protection systems, like sprinklers, to ensure effectiveness overall and under the specific conditions clients face. Further, in cases where there were not sufficient loss prevention solutions, the company’s scientists and engineers have even designed and patented new, more effective sprinklers and other loss prevention technology, the rights to which are released so anyone can manufacture these improved safety measures.

Fire is the leading cause of loss in every calendar year, and watching a pile of plastic pallets ignite into a 60-foot fire while you feel the radiant heat through the glass of the lab’s observation deck is a powerful reality check for anyone evaluating risk exposure in their facility. As you watch the pallets melt, forming a plastic pool that also catches fire and spreads, you see the fire double in size every 45 seconds. If your strategy is primarily to rely on the local fire station, the researchers note, a minimal response time, assuming decent proximity, no traffic or inclement weather, and full staffing, would probably be at least five to 10 minutes. It only took seven minutes for their sample fire to reach almost three stories high, flickering around the edges of the massive ceiling-mounted calorimeter (which measures heat and the particles and smoke released).

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One of the most striking demonstrations comes in the form of a dust explosion. Whether released through product manufacturing, a byproduct of processing, or simply lazy housekeeping, a wide variety of dusts can fill the air in many facilities. Flour, sugar, metal dust, wood and resin are all highly flammable and exceptionally common.

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To cause an explosion, you simply need a few conditions: fuel (the dust), oxygen, ignition, suspension (in other words, the dust has not settled, increasing the surface area), and a confined space (ie. inside the facility, the dust stays in the environment). What happens then? Check out the video below for a slow-motion look at the explosion that results from just a hard hat full of phenolic resin.