By Mary Sams, Senior Research Analyst, Triple-I
The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 and is forecast to be intense, so homeowners need to prepare. Yet many lack even the most basic preventative measures, unaware of the risks they face, according to a new Triple-I survey, in coordination with Munich Re.
The new report, Homeowners’ perception of weather risksprovides information on trends, behavior, and how the experience of a weather event affects consumer perceptions of future events.
In the first half of 2023, Triple-I, in coordination with Munich Re, asked US homeowners about their experiences with weather-related risks. Among the key findings:
- Twenty-five percent of respondents do not expect to be affected by climate risks in the future.
- Thirty-two percent report that they have been affected by weather in the past five years.
- Two main ways to prepare for weather risk include creating a home inventory and an emergency evacuation plan. However, only 47 percent of those surveyed have a home inventory and slightly more (52 percent) have an evacuation plan.
- Thunderstorms are reported as the top weather concern, at 54 percent nationally. This includes flooding and tornadoes and varies by geographic region. The Midwest leads the area with the highest reported thunderstorm risk, at 75 percent, and the West region reports the lowest proportion of concern, at 33 percent.
The survey suggests that flood risk awareness and education is the best opportunity for property owners to take the necessary steps to protect their property. For example, among the 22 percent of respondents who reported understanding their flood risk, 78 percent said they had purchased flood insurance.
Learn more:
Risk Status: Flood (Triple-I Problem Summary)
Risk Status: Hurricanes (Triple-I Issue Summary)
Risk Status: Convective (Triple-I Issue Summary)
Stemming a Rising Tide How Insurers Can Close the Flood Protection Gap (Triple-I/Capgemini)
Severe Convective Storms: Evolving Risks Demand Innovation to Cut Costs and Boost Resiliency (Triple-I Research Paper)
Flood: Beyond Risk Transfer (Triple-I Research Paper)