Lightning to Blame for $952M in Homeowners Claims in 2022

Claims involving lightning in 2022 resulted in homeowners insurance payouts approaching $1 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

The total value of claims in 2022 attributable to lightning was $952 million, down from $1.3 billion in 2021, said Triple-I.

“Insurers are moving toward predicting and preventing losses by advocating for resilience in coordination with the real-time application of technology,” said Sean Kevelighan, CEO, Triple-I. “Lightning Safety Awareness Week (June 18-24) highlights the dangers lightning poses to life and property and how insurers and policyholders are reducing these risks.”

There were 62,189 claims involving lightning in 2022, up from 60,851 in 2021.

Florida had the highest number of lightning claims in 2022, with 5,504. California had the highest average cost per claim at $36,319. The national average cost per claim was $15,280.

According to the National Weather Service, Lightning Safety Awareness Week started in 2001 to call attention to lightning being an underrated killer. Since the awareness campaign, U.S. lightning fatalities has dropped from about 55 per year to less than 30.