Lightning Caused $1.2 Billion in US Homeowners Claim Payouts in 2023; Severity Trends Upward for the Year

For Immediate Release
New York Press Office: (212) 346-5500; media@iii.org

NEW YORK, June 17, 2024—More than $1.2 billion in lightning-caused U.S. homeowners insurance claims were paid out in 2023 to more than 70,000 policyholders, with $194 million attributable to Texas alone, according to the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I).   

Based on national insurance claims data compiled to coincide with Lightning Safety Awareness Week (June 23-29, 2024), the Triple-I estimates that:

• The total value of lightning-caused U.S. homeowners insurance claims was up more than 30% in 2023 ($1.27 billion) from 2022 ($950 million).
• The number of lightning-caused U.S. homeowners insurance claims increased by 13.8% between 2022 and 2023, from 62,189 to 70,787, with numbers from the top 19 claims states contributing to more than half (57%) of the total.
• The average cost per lightning-caused claim increased 14.6% from $15,280 in 2022 to $17,513 in 2023.

“Rising inflation, including higher replacement, construction and labor costs impacted claim costs for the year,” said Sean Kevelighan, CEO, Triple-I. “Lightning Safety Awareness Week highlights the dangers lightning poses to life and property and how insurers and policyholders are reducing these risks through effective mitigation efforts.”

Severe convective storms are among the most common, most damaging natural catastrophes in the U.S. The result of warm, moist air rising from the earth, they manifest in various ways, depending on atmospheric conditions – from drenching thunderstorms with lightning, to tornadoes, hail, or destructive straight-line winds.