According to a new report from catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Co, insured building values in the U.S. now exceed $40 trillion, including residential, commercial and industrial structures. When contents and time element exposures are added in, the insured property values swell to over $80 trillion. Along with increasing values, there are more concentrated pockets of exposure, particularly in areas vulnerable to natural catastrophes.The state with the most property value is California, followed by New York and Texas. The top ten states account for over 50 percent of the US total. Five counties each have over $1 trillion of exposure and, on a combined basis, account for more than 10 percent of total US property value. One county – Los Angeles – accounts for over three percent of total insured value.
The tier one coastal counties most exposed to hurricanes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts account for over 17 percent of US property value. And there are nearly 2,000 individual five-digit ZIP codes with over $10 billion of exposure and 26 with $50 billion or more.