Jackie LoVerme Vice President of Strategic Partnerships | Insurify
Severe weather continues to wreak havoc across the United States, causing billions of dollars in insured losses and ravaging vulnerable communities. A new disaster-mapping tool could help property owners and policymakers understand extreme weather risks and the benefits of investing in resilient infrastructure.
Rebuild by Design, a research project from New York University (NYU), recently published the Atlas of Accountability interactive map. The atlas is available online, allowing users to search an address or select a county to see how many federal disasters have hit that area from 2011 to 2023. They can also view the amount of post-disaster assistance an area received and information about the area’s congresspeople.
The authors hope sharing this information will help individuals and representatives advocate for more pre-disaster resources.
“The data shows that communities across the U.S. are impacted, and we need a nationwide strategy to promote investment,” Jeff Stevens, iParametrics executive vice president and general manager, said in a press release.
The report recommends state governments begin requiring insurance companies to consider mitigation measures when setting insurance policy prices. The potential for lower premiums could incentivize property owners to make mitigation improvements, the report notes. FEMA already does this with the National Flood Insurance Program, according to the report.
Home insurance rates are rising largely due to inflation and severe weather effects, according to Insurify’s homeowners insurance report. Some insurers already incentivize disaster mitigation efforts and offer discounts for reinforcing roofs or installing storm shutters.
The Atlas of Accountability displays disaster declarations by county, with many areas facing higher insurance rates or significantly fewer coverage options due to more federally declared disasters.
For example, while California and Tennessee had the most federally declared disasters according to the Atlas of Accountability, hurricane-prone Florida and Louisiana have the highest home insurance rates in the country. The average annual premium for $300,000 of dwelling coverage is $10,996 in Florida and $6,354 in Louisiana — well above the $2,377 national average per Insurify data. In recent decades, Florida and Louisiana each faced disasters causing $100 billion to $200 billion in losses; California’s and Tennessee’s most expensive disasters resulted in $5 billion to $50 billion in losses according to National Centers for Environmental Information data.
The Atlas of Accountability includes a county-level breakdown of billions of dollars in federal disaster assistance from two sources: Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation programs as well as Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding.
In a press release, Rebuild by Design advocated for communities and elected officials to work toward more resilient infrastructure. One recommendation is shifting some post-disaster funding towards pre-disaster funding “so communities can invest in infrastructure before they suffer.”
“Communities throughout the U.S. can take actions that lower their risk at the same time that it saves money in the long run,” Stevens said.
Rebuild by Design’s analysis shows that 91% of congressional districts experienced at least one federally declared climate disaster between 2011 and 2023.
Though severe weather and shifting climate patterns have become politicized issues, the report calls for urgent bipartisan cooperation and “the need to unite across the urban-rural divide.”
“Our research clearly shows that extreme weather is not a partisan issue,” Amy Chester, director of Rebuild by Design at NYU said in a release. “Constituents all over the U.S. are suffering through these events with lasting consequences. Now is the time to shift those post-disaster dollars to programs that help communities prepare for climate events so they do not need to suffer first.”
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