The “mostly peaceful” riots that have been rocking the US since the end of May have proven to be extremely costly.
The Insurance Information Institute has compiled some shocking data. According to the institute, property damage claims from the riots this summer have now likely surpassed $2 billion, making them the costliest riots in US history.
BREAKING: Insurance Information Institute says Summer 2020 riots caused over $2 billion in damage across 20 states, Highest in US history.
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The study indicates that just between the dates of May 26 and June 8 claims appear to be near the $2 billion mark, and in most cities, the rioting has not stopped. In Portland, for example, they are nearing four months of nightly disturbances without a single night off, and no end in sight.
“This is still happening, so the losses could be significantly more,” mentioned an official from Property Claim Services, an industry monitoring service, according to Claims Journal.
Another disturbing dimension to these figures is that they only include valid insurance claims. Many business and property owners are realizing to their horror that they are not even able to make a claim due to the nature of their insurance policies, which often do not include riot-related losses.
In comparison, the total amount of insurance claims for property damage in the whole decade of the 1960s, which saw six major nationwide riots, totals to just $1.2 billion when adjusted for inflation. That means the country saw in a couple of weeks during 2020 almost twice the property damage as that of the previously most turbulent decade in the country’s history.
Insurance companies, even with so many exclusions on claims, are at risk due to this. In addition, many businesses are facing the problem of settlements not providing enough compensation for them to be able to rebuild.
Concerns are being raised about further riots and intensifying of the same due to the presidential elections looming in November.
