Insurance implications of storm damage

Abstract

On the morning of Friday, 16th October, 1987, the country awoke to the news that the South East corner of England had been swept by the most severe winds on record. The majority of the people in the affected areas were already only too aware of the news and a great many were still wondering what had hit them. Unfortunately, for many this was only the beginning of the nightmare. The storm affected everybody in that South East corner to some degree and for a lot of people it led to the submission of their first insurance claim. For the insuring public this was the testing time for their insurance companies and I would suggest that the industry, as a whole, came out of the disaster very well, financial implications excepted, of course. It is doubtful whether or not the full cost of the storm for the insurance companies will ever be known, bearing in mind the diverse nature of claims and the industry itself. The claim figures may amount to £850m but this is felt to be an understatement. However, even now claims relating, or allegedly relating, to the storm are still being received by insurers.

Citation

Heath, M.C. (1989), "Insurance implications of storm damage", Structural Survey, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 322-327. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb006314