A perspective on El Nino for the property insurance industry : causes, characteristics, economic impacts, and implications.

Bibliography: p. 19-21

Cover title

Many experts believe the El Nino of 1997 and 1998 may be one of the most intense weather events of the 20th century. To examine its impacts on the insurance industry, the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) commissioned "A perspective on El Nino" from the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies at the University of Oklahoma, a booklet describing the phenomenon and its implications. The authors note that likely outcomes include decreased hurricane activity in the Atlantic, increased flooding in the southwestern and southeastern U.S., and above-normal winter and spring precipitation for the southwest along with a consequent decrease in wildfire danger. They note that the effects of El Nino on winter storms, "nor'easters", severe weather, tornadoes, and hail in the U.S. have not yet been studied enough to yield scientific predictions. At the same time, vastly improved El Nino prediction allows for the development of mitigation strategies to reduce the psychological and financial impacts of these events