General Insurance Article - Home insurance thirty years on from the Great Storm

 "The Great Storm of 1987 was the most costly windstorm the UK insurance industry had seen to date. Claims reached £1.4bn (gross of reinsurance), which equated to nearly 50 per cent of total property insurance premiums. By comparison, home insurance premiums in 2016 were close to £6bn meaning the Great Storm today would have seen gross domestic claims of almost £3bn; or more than 100 pounds for each UK household.

 “In 1987, the insurance industry struggled to deal with the vast number of claims and at least one major insurer resorted to communicating with policyholders by placing newspaper ads asking them to submit claims. Today’s insurers will be considering how well prepared they are for a repeat event - will their supply chain cope with the number of claims and will their digital communication plans, including use of social media, be successful?

 “Whilst the UK home insurance industry has made a profit every year since 2007, when the Summer Floods created a surge of insurance claims, the 30th anniversary of the Great Storm is a timely reminder of the danger natural events can pose.”