Forensic Meteorologists Bring Expertise To Major Flooding Claims

Science Forensic Meteorologists Bring Expertise To Major Flooding Claims Jim Foerster Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Aug 15, 2022, 09:45am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Flooding events like the ones we continue to see can be a major factor in a broad range of insurance .

. . [+] claims and civil and criminal cases, long after the water recedes.

Forensic meteorologists are called on to consult on legal and insurance cases resulting from violent or high-impact storms. AFP via Getty Images Floods are the nation’s most common and costly natural disaster, producing millions of dollars of destruction every year, and this year will be no exception. In just the last two weeks, there has been major flash flood events in St.

Louis, Eastern Kentucky, parts of Virginia and West Virginia, and Death Valley. In fact, the National Centers for Environmental Information in the last 10 years reports that floods have caused at least $50 billion in damage in the U. S.

So how can meteorologists help with events after the rain has stopped? Forensic meteorology. Forensic meteorologists are called on to consult on legal and insurance cases resulting from violent or high-impact storms. They can reconstruct any questioned weather conditions that occurred at a specific time and location, by gathering and analyzing atmospheric data that was available at the time and recreating the timeline of meteorological events, much like a detective might solve crimes.

Forensic meteorologists may also perform research, modeling, and testing, to come to accurate conclusions. Flooding events like the ones we continue to see can be a major factor in a broad range of insurance claims and civil and criminal cases, long after the water recedes. Flash flooding can be a high-impact event that causes high-cost damages, for example, just one inch of water in a home can cause more than $25,000 in damage.

While most of the claim are legitimate and the impacted persons need financial assistance to rebuild, there are some people that make false claims to capitalize on the enormity of the weather event. While forensic meteorologists dedicate their careers to litigation and insurance work, often spending time testifying in trials, it’s more common that meteorologists become involved in forensic meteorology in some other way during their careers. Cases using the expertise of forensic meteorologists usually involve looking at precise location weather events, and much of the problem-solving involves knowing what synoptic data is needed to reconstruct the meteorology at a very specific location at some point in the past.

MORE FOR YOU New Research Finds A Connection Between Domestic Violence And These Two Personality Disorders This Scientist Helps Andean Forests And Ecuador’s Women In STEM Exceptional Fossil Preservation Suggests That Discovering Dinosaur DNA May Not Be Impossible Property insurance claims are both the most common and the most expensive insurers must handle. When property is damaged, one of the first steps is to call the insurance company who will have a claims adjuster assess the damage. From there, the property owner will receive payment to repair or replace the damaged property according to the terms of the insurance policy.

But, a forensic meteorologist might be called to help if the property damage is weather-related and there’s some uncertainty in the matter. Hurricane Katrina drove many insurance-related inquiries requiring the help of forensic meteorologists. Much of the work done in areas like Mobile, Alabama, had to rely on things like tree damage for clues about what caused property damage.

The tree damage could indicate the wind direction, before during and after the storm. The direction of the fallen trees helped create timelines for the property destruction, even if there were no homes or other structures still standing. With the rise of extreme weather events, many insurance experts are concerned that there could be a rise in related, fraudulent insurance claims.

The Insurance Information Institute states that fraudulent claims account for about 10 percent of the property-casualty insurance industry’s losses each year, and with weather causing more property damage than ever, the implications for insurance companies have been costly. Insurance companies looking to minimize the number of fraudulent claims, and the related costs, work hard to identify fraud during these extreme weather events. One area of growing interest is in parametric insurance.

Parametric insurance is different than traditional property and casualty insurance in that it pays on a specific parameter occurring rather than claims focusing on the damage itself. The catalyst for reimbursement is based on verified, scientifically based measurements, such as observation forecasts, radar and forecasts Extreme weather events, such as flooding, can have profound impact on both property owners and insurance companies. Although extreme weather and other natural disasters are uncontrollable and unavoidable, having forensic meteorologists involved can mitigate risk and ensure that any disputes are fairly settled.

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