Hurricanes and Economy.

Recently Florida and other parts of the south east have seen their fair share of storms. More than likely you have family or friends that live in that part of the country. You've checked in to make sure they are safe. For many that is the case and they are doing clean up, checking insurance and recovering. For others, it is a far more serious recovery including the loss of loved ones for many. 

These tropical storms, tornadoes in the Midwest, severe winters in the northeast or earthquakes in my part of town always reveal a hidden economy that shows up only in the wake of these extreme situations. There is the obvious devastation of loss of life and lesser important things like damage to property but there is much more going on. 

There is the world of insurance that insures individuals, property, businesses and more that can be fit hard when a massive area they insure is hit by a hurricane. In some cases, these can be huge blows to the financial stability of an insurer so they issue things like catastrophe bonds to offset potential losses. You also have a dark side of the equation is that there are bets against insurance companies that they will be able to survive these sorts of disasters. 

In a place like Florida, tourism is a major economic contributor with its popular destinations of Disney World and Universal Orlando. For Disney to be closed because of Milton will cost the park between $100-200 million. The previous nine closures have cost Disney an estimated half-billion plus. While I am sure Disney posting some short-term losses doesn’t quite tug at your heartstrings, stories of individuals having their lives upended do. 

For many seniors in Florida, events like Milton can ruin retirement dreams and financially wreak havoc. The unexpected or unplanned for events in life are often the ones that cost us the most. One such story features James Sowards, 71, and his story of what flooding and devastation he found at his home and what that is doing to his future plans. 

One of things that events like this also produce is a strong sense of community economy and support when disaster strikes. Blood, supplies, donations and on the ground support always quickly follows and we should take note of that human spirit and community economy that we engage in. Despite our individualism we still have a strong community sense in times of great need - something I hope we continue to engage in and learn to bring into our lives in other ways, not just when natural disasters or tragedy strikes. It’s a beautiful part of our larger community that we rise in this way. 

Here is the article about James Sowards.

https://apple.news/AH9-xktV3TUu9BP-kJzz-aA

Here is an article about the catastrophe bonds.

https://apple.news/A1VcXQAWHTvmUe-HkM3DZZQ

As always, if you come across a financially related article you’d like to send my way please do! 

Best place to send them is to me.

More next time!

Jonathan