From 2004 through 2011 insurance companies witnessed a 33 percent decline in the number of claims filed against lightning strikes, yet they managed to pay out almost double the amount of money for lightning strikes compared to years prior.
The main reason for the higher costs according to experts is the rise in high-tech electronics such as TVs and videogame consoles which are more prone to accidents when lightning strikes.
In a survey released by the Insurance Information Institute on Thursday the organization found that insurance losses reached nearly $1 billion in 2011, down from one year prior.
The group found that even though there was a sharp decline in claims the average cost per lightning strike insurance filing rose by 93 percent to $5,112 over the same period.
According to the research firm the biggest culprits for soaring insurance claim costs were flat-screen TVs, computers and videogame consoles, all of which can become worthless when their circuitry is fried by unfriendly aerial assaults of the electrical kind.
The higher costs shouldn’t come as a surprise as the number of consumer electronics rose by 15% in the United States from 2007 through 2011.
2011 was especially hard on insurance company’s because the earthquake and following tsunami in Japan and flooding in Thailand led to electronic’s shortages which in turn caused prices to rise.
Lightning strikes against people may be fairly rare but actual strikes occur on a rather regular basis, in 2011 the National Lightning Detection Network recorded 23.4 million lightning flashes.
While stopping lightning strikes is impossible many claims could have been avoided with the installation of a whole house surge protector system or if customers chose to implement higher end power protection adapters from the likes of APC.
