Weather Ranks Top in Causes of Home Damage: Travelers

Wind is the most common claim while fire is the most expensive claim for homeowners, according to Travelers Companies’ recently released Top Ways Things Can Go Wrong interactive report. The report examines the company’s national homeowners insurance claim data from 2009 to 2016. It highlights the types of claims that are most prevalent in four regions of the United States and some of the largest metropolitan areas.

Most Common Causes of Damage

Wind – 24%

Non-Weather Water – 20%

Hail – 16%

Weather-Related Water – 11%

Theft – 6%

Most Expensive Causes of Damage

Fire – 25%

Hail – 20%

Non-Weather Water – 17%

Wind – 17%

Weather was a significant contributor to property losses throughout the year. Damage from windstorms, hail and water accounted for half of all claims.

While water damage caused by weather is certainly a risk, more water-related claims were due to non-weather events like plumbing or appliance issues inside the house.

When it came to claims by season, spring produced the highest number of claims, mostly related to damage caused by hail. Wind was the leading source of claims during the summer, fall and winter.

Looking at the United States by region (Northeast, South, West and Midwest), the South recorded almost half of the total claims (46 percent), while the Midwest (12 percent) had the fewest. Wind was the largest contributor to claims in the Northeast and South, while non-weather-related water damage was the reason for most claims in the West. Hail was the most common cause of damage in the Midwest.

Wind damage ranked in the top five for both most common and costliest claims in the metropolitan areas analyzed in the report. Fire was one of the costliest causes of claims in these cities, while theft was among the most common.

Topics Claims