Don't mess with lightning
Peggy Claytor
Claims involving lightning in 2022 resulted in homeowners insurance payouts approaching $1 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
The total value of claims in 2022 attributable to lightning was $952 million, down from $1.3 billion in 2021.
There were 62,189 claims involving lightning in 2022, up from 60,851 in 2021.
According to the National Weather Service, Lightning Safety Awareness Week started in 2001 to call attention to lightning being an underrated killer. Since the awareness campaign, U.S. lightning fatalities has dropped from about 55 per year to less than 30.
