An Overlooked Source of Weather-Related Property Damage in the Southeast: Lightning Losses for Georgia, 1996-2000

I compiled weather-related property damage claims for Georgia and compared them with observational loss records in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Data reports for 1996-2000. Lightning comprised 53% of a total 37,093 weather-related claims for property damage observed during this interval, amounting to $22.9 million in losses. Based on tests of group differences obtained with multiresponse permutation procedures (MRPP), lightning was comparable to wind damage in total dollar losses. When adjustments are made for the market share of insurer providing these claims data, lightning losses in Georgia may approach $92 million for the five-year period. Storm Data greatly underestimated lightning losses, suggesting that insurance claims can provide much needed detail on the economic costs of high frequency, localized weather hazards such as lightning. For the southeastern U.S., lightning may be an underrecognized agent of weather-related property losses.