Xactware’s 2018 Property Report Highlights Impact of Hurricanes

May 29, 2019 / 1 min read

LEHI, Utah — Wednesday, May 29, 2019 — Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Michael, and the California wildfires had a significant effect on year-end reconstruction costs, according to Xactware's recently released 2018 Property Report for the United States. Xactware is a Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) business.

Reconstruction costs in the United States rose 4.8 percent by the end of 2018. The states with the highest percent increases were Kentucky (6.8 percent), Nevada (6.7 percent), North Carolina (6.2), Indiana (6.1 percent), and Utah (5.9 percent). Reconstruction costs rose exponentially in many catastrophe-impacted areas.

“In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, North Carolina suppliers had to ramp up inventory to meet the needs of repair and mitigation work following the storm,” said Greg Pyne, Xactware's vice president of Pricing Data Services. “Overall, the average retail labor rate for all trades increased 4.6 percent in most storm-struck areas while the rest of North Carolina only increased 1.1 percent”

Xactware's 2018 Property Report for the United States also shows the impact of catastrophes on property estimates throughout the year. Water damage was the most commonly reported type of loss, accounting for nearly one of every five property estimates processed by Xactware.

“Xactware's property report was gathered by examining data from millions of claims—with hundreds of millions of data points,” said Mike Fulton, Xactware's president. “This highly detailed overview of the property insurance industry is filled with actionable information that readers can use to drive decision during the coming year.”

Xactware’s 2018 Property Report Highlights Impact of Hurricanes, Wildfires