{"id":316255,"date":"2026-06-22T23:39:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T23:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/316255\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T23:39:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T23:39:13","slug":"florida-leads-nation-in-lightning-damage-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/316255\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida leads nation in lightning damage claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB<\/a>) – Florida led the nation in lightning-related property damage claims in 2025, according to new research from the Insurance Information Institute.<\/p>\n

The Insurance Information Institute, also known as Triple-I, said U.S. insurers paid $1.65 billion in lightning-related property damage claims last year. That marks a 59% increase from 2024 and the highest level since 2020.<\/p>\n

The average cost per claim also rose sharply. Triple-I said the average claim climbed 42.8% to $26,616 in 2025. The group attributed the increase to higher rebuilding and repair costs, inflation-related increases in labor and materials, and the growing value of home electronics and connected devices.<\/p>\n

Florida had 5,136 lightning-related property damage claims last year, totaling $186 million in insured damage, according to Triple-I. The average Florida claim was nearly $36,000.<\/p>\n

Standard homeowners, condo and renters insurance policies typically cover lightning damage to a home\u2019s structure and personal property. That can include damage caused by fires, power surges, electrical system failures and damaged appliances or electronics.<\/p>\n

Depending on the policy, insured losses may also include personal property replacement, temporary living expenses, debris removal and reconstruction costs.<\/p>\n

Triple-I says homeowners can take steps to reduce the risk. One option is a professionally installed lightning protection system. These systems are designed to give lightning a safe path to the ground through rooftop rods or air terminals, down conductors and a grounding network.<\/p>\n

Florida consumers see relief in auto, homeowners insurance costs<\/a><\/p>\n

Friedlander said lightning protection is not a do-it-yourself project. Homeowners should hire a UL-listed lightning protection specialist to install the system according to national safety standards.<\/p>\n

Triple-I also recommends using whole-house surge protectors and point-of-use protectors to help divert electricity into the ground and protect valuable appliances.<\/p>\n

During severe storms, homeowners should disconnect TVs, computers and other electronics when it is safe to do so.<\/p>\n

Friedlander said many home insurers now offer Whisker Labs\u2019 Ting system at no cost. The system monitors a home\u2019s electrical network for potential fire hazards and includes up to $1,000 toward repair labor if a hidden electrical fault is detected, according to Triple-I.<\/p>\n

Triple-I has guidance on lightning safety and insurance coverage at https:\/\/www.iii.org\/article\/lightning-coverage-and-safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Triple-I\u2019s Mark Friedlander will join WWSB live Wednesday, June 24, at 5:15 p.m. to provide insight for homeowners on how to protect their property and possessions from lightning hazards.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WWSB. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – Florida led the nation in lightning-related property damage claims in 2025, according to new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,131441,29,131443,131442,131444,131445],"class_list":["post-316255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-lightning-damage","tag-florida-news","tag-homeowners-insurance-coverage","tag-lightning-insurance-claims","tag-lightning-protection-systems","tag-property-damage-claims-2025"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}