Leading flood insurance provider examines the past decade of U.S. hurricane losses

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the first time in a decade, the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season ended without a single hurricane hitting the continental United States. Yet the same season produced three Category 5 hurricanes, tied for the second-most ever recorded. They simply did not make landfall in the U.S.

That distinction matters. The threat that defines hurricane season for the U.S. is not the count of storms a forecaster predicts, but whether one of those storms strikes a populated area. For nine consecutive years before 2025, at least one did.

This report explains what hurricane season is, what the past decade has actually cost, and why one quiet year should not be mistaken for a change in direction.

What the past decade has shown:

• Between 2016 and 2024, 25 hurricanes made U.S. landfall, an average of nearly three per year, and five consecutive years (2020-2024) brought at least one major hurricane to U.S. shores. Six of the ten costliest U.S. hurricanes on record occurred during this window.
• A strained federal flood program: Over the full decade (2016-2025), the NFIP paid a non-inflation-adjusted $36.7 billion on more than 586,000 individual flood claims, accounting for 40% of all-time NFIP claims. The program now owes $22.525 billion to the U.S. Treasury, leaving just $7.9 billion of room before it hits its $30.425 billion borrowing cap.
• A persistently low insurance take-up rate: Roughly 4% of Americans carry flood insurance. In the 100 counties hit hardest by Hurricane Helene, that figure was about 2%; in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where Asheville and surrounding towns experienced large losses, it was less than 1%. Helene alone caused an estimated $20-30 billion in uninsured flood losses that homeowners absorbed directly.
• A below-normal 2026 outlook that doesn't equal low risk: NOAA's 2026 outlook calls for a below-normal Atlantic season (8-14 named storms, 3-6 hurricanes, 1-3 major hurricanes), citing an expected strong El Niño. But a seasonal outlook only describes where storms might form, not where they will go. Hurricane Sandy made landfall in 2012 as a Category 1, the weakest classification, yet caused roughly $70 billion in damage because it struck a densely populated region.

The full report, A Decade of Storms: Why 2025’s Calm Season Isn’t a Trend, is available here and on neptuneflood.com/research

About Neptune Flood

Neptune Flood (NYSE: NP) is a leading, data-driven managing general agent offering a range of easy-to-purchase residential and commercial insurance products, including primary flood and excess flood insurance, distributed through a nationwide network of agencies. Leveraging proprietary artificial intelligence and advanced data science, Neptune delivers fast, accurate, and accessible coverage for residential and commercial properties across the United States. The Company operates without human underwriters, using Triton®, its cutting-edge platform to streamline underwriting, pricing, and policy issuance.

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Media:
Loren Pomerantz
917-902-0219
loren@combined-forces.com

Source: Neptune Flood