Severe Weather Causes First-Half 2023 Losses of at Least $1B in Seven States: Report

Seven states experienced at least $1 billion in total insured severe weather loss for the first half of 2023, according to an update from BMS Group.

Texas led all states with insured severe weather loss of $7.2 billion while Illinois, Kentucky, Colorado, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri also broke the $1 billion mark.

While London-based independent specialist insurance and reinsurance broker BMS credited socioeconomic elements as the primary driver of higher insurance losses from severe weather, states in the Central Plains experienced unusually active storms in the first six months of the year.

Texas recorded five severe weather industry insurance loss events in June, the most in that month in at least 13 years. June severe weather in Texas led to an estimated $2 billion in total insured losses, according to the report.

Using data from NOAA National Weather Service Local Storm Reports, BMS found that wind damage reports have been elevated for most of 2023, with a leveling off in June. The U.S. experienced a near-record number of tornadoes through the first three months of the year. A tornado outbreak March 31-April 1 left at least 32 people dead across nine states and caused significant damage throughout the Midwest and South.

The entire Interstate 20 corridor between Georgia and central Texas have seen an elevated number of storms in 2023, BMS found. High levels of unusually severe weather is not limited to the Central Plains, the report said.

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