New Jersey is ranked as being the most vulnerable to insured losses per 1,000 square miles from a twister, according to a new A.M. Best Co. special report entitled “2007 U.S Tornadoes, Toto...We’re Not In New Jersey Anymore.” The report found New Jersey topping a list of states with the highest expected insured losses per 1,000 square miles from tornado and related severe weather events. Four states, also small in size but high in concentrated development — Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio and Rhode Island — round out the top five. These states, according to catastrophe models, have the highest average loss rates from tornadoes in all 50 states. The loss rates in the five states are affected heavily by insured property values and the frequency of storms, the report said.

Three catastrophe modelers, Risk Management Solutions, AIR Worldwide Corp. and Eqecat, participated in compiling information for the A.M. Best report.

A.M. Best’s Tornado Study: NJ Tops List of Modeled Losses (A.M. Best 4/18/07)

April 24, 2007