February Northeast Blizzard Causes an Estimated $38 Billion in Damage

According to Insurance Journal and a preliminary estimate from AccuWeather, the most recent nor’easter, which brought multiple feet of snow and blizzard conditions, has caused between $34 billion and $38 billion in total damages and economic losses throughout parts of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

Most notably, over 600,000 homes and businesses lost power (and not all have been restored!).

Insurance Journal also indicated that over 2,000 flights were canceled, with countless others delayed.

Additionally, we might not yet be getting the full picture, as some areas have not given a complete report of damages, injuries, other impacts, etc.

AccuWeather stated that, “its preliminary estimate of total insured and uninsured damage and economic loss accounts for damage to homes and businesses, disruptions to commerce and supply chain logistics, tourism losses, impacts to shipping operations at major hubs, financial losses from extended power outages, major travel delays, as well as damage to infrastructure.”

AccuWeather’s Chief Meteorologist, Jonathan Porter, stated, “This winter has been remarkably costly and disruptive for people across the eastern half of the country,” and “This blockbuster blizzard is the third major storm so far this winter to cause billions of dollars in damage and losses.”

These storms, among other catastrophic weather events, invite fraud whether it be in the form of inflated, fraudulent claims by homeowners/business owners, or fraudulent contractors looking to capitalize on homeowners’/business owners’ grief, vulnerability, and urgency to get their lives back together, by taking deposits with no intention on completing the work, incomplete jobs, shoddy workmanship, etc.

 As always, we are always ready and on standby for your investigative needs. And unfortunately, as far as winter is concerned, it’s not over until it’s over!

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