68 facts about the risks insurance covers, from 15 reports built on government data: hail, tornadoes, earthquakes, flood claims and flood coverage, disaster declarations, California wildfires and home insurance non-renewals, truck crashes and inspections, new trucking companies and contractor workers’ comp. Each fact links to its report, which gives the source, the method and a CSV download.
By Sam Alishahi, independent insurance broker · All data reports
Texas gets the most hail: 12,919 hail reports from 2016 through 2025, followed by Kansas (7,353) and Oklahoma (5,409).
Hail is concentrated in the Plains. Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma account for 29% of all hail reports from 2016 through 2025, then Nebraska (5,338), Colorado (4,491), South Dakota (4,278), Missouri (3,944), Minnesota (3,845).
The county with the most reports is El Paso County, Colorado, with 756 from 2016 through June 2026.
About one report in ten is 2-inch hail. 8,525 reports, 10% of the total, were stones 2 inches across or larger.
California sees little hail: 318 reports over the period, rank 36 of 51.
Texas has the most tornadoes: 1,119 from 2016 through 2025, followed by Oklahoma (829) and Mississippi (828).
Tornadoes are not just a Plains problem. After Texas, the states with the most tornadoes from 2016 through 2025 were Oklahoma (829), Mississippi (828), Illinois (760), Alabama (706), Iowa (644), Louisiana (627), so Southeastern states rank alongside the Plains.
Kentucky had the most tornado deaths over the period, 95. Nationwide, 513 people were killed by tornadoes from 2016 through 2025.
Most tornadoes are weak. 1,416 of 13,184, or 11%, were rated EF2 or stronger on the Enhanced Fujita scale; the rest were EF0, EF1 or unrated.
Since 1950, Texas has recorded the most tornadoes, 9,617. California recorded 61 from 2016 through 2025.
Alaska has by far the most earthquakes: 8,331 of magnitude 4.0 or greater from 2000 through 2025, most of them offshore along the Aleutian Islands, followed by California (1,028) and Oregon (307).
Alaska dominates the count. 8,331 of 10,502 magnitude 4.0+ earthquakes, 79%, were in or off Alaska, most along the Aleutian subduction zone far from where people live; its largest was magnitude 8.2 (2021 Chignik, Alaska Earthquake).
California leads the lower 48 with 1,028, then Oregon (307), Nevada (172), Oklahoma (100), Idaho (75), Texas (51).
Oklahoma is the surprise: 100 magnitude 4.0+ earthquakes, including a magnitude 5.8 in September 2016, the largest there in this data.
Louisiana has the most flood insurance claims: 303,142 NFIP claims with losses from 2005 through 2026, paid $19.3 billion, followed by Florida (258,204 claims, $16.5 billion) and Texas (226,065, $14.7 billion).
Flood claims are not only a high-risk-zone problem. Of NFIP claims with a known rated flood zone, 27% were in moderate- or low-risk zones (B, C or X), outside the Special Flood Hazard Areas where lenders require flood insurance, and they received 23% of the payments.
Louisiana, Florida and Texas account for 67% of payments. Louisiana received $19.3 billion on 303,142 claims; next come New Jersey ($5.9 billion), New York ($5.4 billion), Mississippi ($2.9 billion), North Carolina ($1.6 billion).
Only about 4 in 10 homes in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones have National Flood Insurance Program coverage: 39.8% nationwide, 1,493,434 NFIP policies for 3,752,915 homes in the 2,271 counties FEMA’s August 3, 2026 data can measure.
Coverage is lowest inland. Among states where the rated counties hold at least 75% of the state’s high-risk-zone policies, the lowest are West Virginia (10.3%), Oklahoma (12.3%), Iowa (12.7%), South Dakota (13.2%) and Arkansas (14.0%).
Some large counties trail far behind. Of the 57 counties with at least 10,000 high-risk homes, the lowest coverage is in Kanawha County, West Virginia (9.8%), Valencia County, New Mexico (14.3%), Riverside County, California (15.5%), Marion County, Indiana (16.0%), Hudson County, New Jersey (18.0%).
California: 30.3%. 90,678 NFIP policies for 299,579 homes in high-risk zones.
Oklahoma has the most federal disaster declarations: 60 major disasters since 2000, followed by California (52) and Kansas (50).
2024 had more major disaster declarations than any year since 2000. FEMA declared 100 major disasters in 2024, ahead of 99 in 2011.
Storms, not headline catastrophes, drive the count. The most common incident types in major disaster declarations were severe storm (851), flood (242), hurricane (144), fire (57).
Oklahoma leads the country with 60 major disasters since 2000, most often for severe storm (41), severe ice storm (8).
Eastern Kentucky is the most-declared place in America. 8 of the 10 counties with the most major disaster declarations since 2000 are in Kentucky; Owsley County, Kentucky and Clay County, Kentucky have each been included in 28.
Siskiyou County saw the most acres burn: about 948,489 acres from 2013 through 2025, followed by Trinity (858,607) and Tehama (689,040).
California’s fire losses are lumpy. 2020 (2.94 million acres), 2021 (2.29 million acres), 2018 (1.62 million acres) account for 53% of the acres burned from 2013 through 2025; quieter years burn a fraction of that.
The biggest fires were in the north. The largest counties by acres burned were Siskiyou (948,489), Trinity (858,607), Tehama (689,040), Butte (677,389), Shasta (613,247), Fresno (576,743).
Tuolumne County had California’s highest homeowners non-renewal rate in 2023: insurers declined to renew 18.4% of the policies up for renewal there, against 9.4% statewide, followed by Nevada (18.1%) and Lake (15.4%).
The foothill and mountain counties carry the heaviest load. The ten highest 2023 non-renewal shares were Tuolumne (18.4%), Nevada (18.1%), Lake (15.4%), Plumas (15.1%), Calaveras (15.0%), Butte (14.8%), Shasta (14.5%), Amador (14.0%), Lassen (13.4%), Trinity (12.7%).
FAIR Plan policies grew in 57 of 58 counties, fastest in wine country and on the Central Coast.
Los Angeles County is large, not extreme. Its 2023 non-renewal share was 9.2%, near the statewide figure, but that was still 155,768 non-renewed policies, the most of any county, and 85,478 FAIR Plan policies (+3% since 2020).
Magalia (95954, Butte County) had California’s highest homeowners non-renewal rate in 2023: insurers declined to renew 46.7% of the policies that came up for renewal there, up from 18.5% in 2020, against 9.4% statewide.
The highest rates are in the foothills and mountains. The top of the list is Sierra Nevada foothill, Cascade and Coast Range communities, places like Magalia, Three Rivers, Tuolumne, Paradise, Shingletown, Bodfish, where insurers declined between 28.1% and 46.7% of renewals in 2023.
The most non-renewals in raw numbers are in big suburban ZIPs. Over 2020–2023 the most non-renewed policies were in Fontana (92336), Hesperia (92345), Temecula (92592), Roseville (95747), Murrieta (92563): large, fast-growing ZIP codes on the edge of the wildland, where even an ordinary rate adds up to thousands of households.
In Los Angeles County the high-desert and foothill ZIPs lead. The highest 2023 shares were Topanga 90290 (21.5%), Acton 93510 (17.6%), Littlerock 93543 (17.0%), Pearblossom 93553 (15.6%), Palmdale 93591 (15.6%).
Texas has the most truck accident deaths: 7,137 people died in crashes involving commercial trucks there from 2016 through 2025 (732 in 2024 alone), followed by California (4,369) and Florida (3,310).
51,044 people died in crashes involving commercial trucks from 2016 through 2025.
Texas has the most truck crash deaths by a wide margin: 7,137 over the period, then California (4,369), Florida (3,310), Georgia (2,051), Illinois (1,663), Ohio (1,651).
Change from 2016 to 2024, among states with at least 50 deaths in 2016: increases in Arizona (+68%), Tennessee (+45%), South Carolina (+44%), Virginia (+44%), Oregon (+43%); decreases in Kentucky (-25%), Alabama (-24%), Iowa (-19%), Michigan (-11%), Louisiana (-8%).
Most reportable crashes are not fatal. Of 158,085 reportable truck crashes in 2024, 4,647 involved a death and 55,826 an injury; the rest met FMCSA’s threshold because a vehicle was towed from the scene.
Minnesota has the highest truck out-of-service rate: 40.4% of vehicles inspected there in 2025 were ordered off the road until repaired, against 22.3% nationwide; Mississippi had the lowest (11.5%).
Rates vary widely by state. The highest vehicle out-of-service rates were in Minnesota (40.4%), Nebraska (40.1%), South Carolina (36.5%), Wyoming (35.4%), Iowa (33.9%); the lowest in Mississippi (11.5%), Kansas (11.5%), West Virginia (13.4%), New Mexico (13.9%), District of Columbia (15.1%).
Most inspections are not the full Level I. Of 2,772,468 inspections in 2025, 24% were Level I, 36% Level II walk-arounds and 37% Level III driver-only checks.
California recorded 442,328 inspections, rank 1 of 51, with a vehicle out-of-service rate of 15.5%.
About 130,000 new trucking companies start a year: 130,187 new for-hire carriers registered a USDOT number from October 2025 through September 2026, +4.3% from the 12 months before (124,817).
Three states account for 35% of new carriers. Texas (18,366), California (14,279) and Florida (12,792) lead by a wide margin; next are Georgia (6,477), Pennsylvania (5,390), Ohio (5,109), Illinois (5,073).
Fastest growth: among states with at least 500 new carriers in the prior year, Nebraska (+20.3%), Pennsylvania (+13.3%), Louisiana (+12.8%), Michigan (+12.7%), Missouri (+12.5%).
Most new trucking companies are one truck. 66% of new for-hire carriers listed one power unit on their registration, and 9,864 said they haul hazardous materials.
Many don’t last. 22% of the for-hire carriers that registered in October 2024 show an inactive USDOT status today.
For every 10 new trucking authorities FMCSA granted in 2025, it revoked 14.
Revocations have outnumbered new trucking authority grants every year since 2023. In 2025, 77,355 for-hire property carrier authorities were revoked and 54,514 were granted, 14 for every 10.
73,688 trucking companies lost their authority in 2025. That is down 8.6% from 80,646 in 2024, and 54,306 companies were granted new property carrier authority in 2025.
Texas, California and Florida lead. Texas (8,815), California (8,571) and Florida (5,283) had the most companies lose authority in 2025, then Georgia (4,080), North Carolina (3,515), New Jersey (3,202), Illinois (3,169).
Since the Motus switch, 93% of suspensions cite cancelled insurance. From June 1 to October 9, 2026, Motus recorded 7,750 involuntary suspensions of property carrier authority: 6,973 because the insurance was cancelled with no replacement meeting the minimum on file, 503 for a cancelled BOC-3 process agent filing, and 231 for both.
Contract carriers and brokers lose authority too. Besides the 77,355 property common carrier authorities, 2025 saw 8,359 property contract carrier authorities and 5,263 property broker authorities revoked; 94,125 authorities of every type in all.
49% of active California contractor licenses rely on an exemption. Of 243,757 licenses in CSLB’s file of 10/3/2026, 119,318 show an exemption, 119,782 show a workers’ comp policy, self-insurance or a leasing or staffing firm’s coverage, and 4,236 show no current workers’ comp on file.
The exemption is ending. SB 216 extends the workers’ comp requirement to every licensed contractor, regardless of classification and with limited exceptions, on January 1, 2028.
Where it’s already required, almost no one is exempt. CSLB requires C-20 Warm-Air Heating, C-39 Roofing, C-8 Concrete, C-22 Asbestos Abatement and C-61/D-49 tree service to carry workers’ comp even with no employees.
Exemptions are highest in B-2 Residential Remodeling (73%), B General Building (57%), C-54 Ceramic and Mosaic Tile (53%), C-33 Painting and Decorating (53%).
One-person businesses lean on the exemption. 70% of 113,956 sole-owner licenses are exempt, against 29% of 111,697 corporations.
Warehouses reported the highest serious-injury rate of six high-risk industries: 3.7 injuries or illnesses serious enough to keep a worker off the job, on restricted duty or transferred per 100 full-time workers in 2025, against 2.3 across all 366,514 establishments in OSHA’s 2025 injury reports.
Construction recorded the most deaths of the six. Employers in construction recorded 184 work-related deaths on their 2025 summaries, 24% of the 774 in the file.
Trucking injuries keep people off work longest. A trucking case with days away averaged 44.8 days off the job, against 37.1 across the file and 21.2 in nursing homes.
The same industry reports very different rates from state to state. Construction rates run from Vermont (3.8) and Hawaii (2.6) down to Louisiana (0.2), and 31 of 51 states with enough hours to publish are above the national 1.2.
California employers reported higher rates than the nation in 5 of 6 industries.
Free to use with a link to the report the fact comes from. Please cite “Alishahi Insurance analysis of [source] data”. The reports refresh from their sources, so a figure here can change when the source adds data; each report shows the date of its data.
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