Atlantic Hurricane Season: More Trouble Ahead?
Thursday, May 14th, 2020 Catastrophe PropertyWith the official start of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season just one month away, there has likely never been a more important one for the insurance industry.
This is not just because most of the early-season guidance points to an above-average hurricane season, which could increase the chances of hurricane landfall along the U.S. coastline; but, because of COVID-19, if a hurricane makes landfall it comes with increasing pressures for the people affected and the stress on the insurance industry.
With insurers already strained due to COVID-19, additional losses from a named storm could disrupt the industry.
By their very nature, hurricanes force people to gather close together in shelters and travel away from their places of residency during evacuations. This goes directly against what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend for countering a Covid-19 outbreak.
Think about when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005: Around 20,000 people took refuge in the Superdome. One building with 20,000 people can’t happen in the current environment.
