ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — The number of natural disasters that create more than a billion dollars’ worth of damage is on the rise across the country according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
In Florida, billion-dollar disasters are up 92% in the last 20 years. When you break that down, between 1984 and 2003 , there were 25 of those billion-dollar natural disasters. Between 2004 and 2023, that number jumps to 48.
"These are all adjusted for inflation," Rob Bhatt told First Coast News. He is an analyst for Quote Wizard by Lending Tree.
"That’s the interesting and concerning thing here," he said. "It's just the frequency of these events. When we look back at the 80’s and 90’s it was rare to have a disaster of this magnitude."
"It tells me you have to take your insurance seriously and unfortunately I know Florida’s insurance market is distressed at this time because of all the disasters that have struck," Bhatt said.
The bulk of disasters in Florida are hurricanes and tropical storms.
"In the past six years, there have been six category 4 or 5 hurricanes to landfall on the mainland of the United States," Bhatt noted. "Of these, four have impacted Florida."
And as those numbers climb, insurance companies are having to pay more for claims which ultimately impacts how much you pay.
"If the pace of these disasters keeps on, I think we’re going to see rates go up and companies pull out (of Florida)," Bhatt said.
According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, natural disasters have caused $200B-$250B in damages over the past 40 years in Florida.