Number of home damage claims from lightning in the U.S. on decline as dry weather persists

Insured losses from lightning strikes to homes in the United States were at their lowest level in a decade last year, mainly because of persistent dry weather throughout the western half of the country, the Insurance Information Institute said this week.

The National Weather Service in the U.S. recorded 137 days in 2013 with lightning causing property damage, down 14% from the 160 days recorded in 2012.

Still, insurers paid out $673.5 million in lightning claims to more than 100,000 policyholders last year, the organization said, based on an analysis by the institute and State Farm.

That was down 24% from 2012, and the average lightning paid-claim amount also declined last year by 8.3% to $5,869 from $6,400 in 2012.

Total insured losses from lightning were down by 30.5% in 2013, and have declined by 8.4% since 2004, according to the institute.

In the prior three years (2010 to 2012), home insurers paid approximately $1 billion per year, on average, to policyholders, the group said.

Since 2004, the number of paid lightning claims has declined by nearly 60%, which the institute attributes in part to increased use of lightning protection systems, technological advances, better lightning protection and awareness of lightning safety, as well as fewer lightning storms.

“Despite the drop in the number of paid claims in 2013, the average cost per claim rose nearly 122%  from 2004 to 2013,” according to the institute. “By comparison, the consumer price index rose by 23.3%  in the same period.”

“The average cost per claim has generally continued to rise, in part because of the huge increase in the number and value of consumer electronics in homes,” the group also noted.