Facts on the 20th Anniversary of ‘The Great Storm’

Twenty years after the Great Storm that caused havoc in London and the Home Counties in October 1987, research from esure home insurance highlights that its cost adjusted to 2007 prices means that it now ranks as the third most costly UK weather incident in the last 25 years.

The Great Storm caused an estimated £1.05billion of damage at the time or £2.09billion adjusted to a 2007 basis. This lies behind the June and July 2007 floods which caused an estimated £3billion of damage and the worst incident the 1990 storms and floods which caused an estimated £2.08billion of damage or a massive £3.37billion at 2007 prices.

Many of the other major wind related incidents during the last 25 years have been linked to flooding, the four major exceptions being:

Mar 1986 gales: £55million (£115million at 2007 prices)
Oct 2002 windstorms: £110million (£125m at 2007 prices)
Jan 2005 storms in Scotland: £124m (£132m at 2007 prices)
Jan 2007 ‘Kyrill’ windstorms: £342m

Nikki Sellers, Head of Home Insurance at esure, said: “The Great Storm sticks in the minds of everyone who was in the South East at the time and ranks as the third worst weather incident of the last 25 years. In terms of wind damage however, it stands out alone being five times as damaging as the next nearest incident.

“The atrocious weather in 2007 combined with this anniversary should act as a reminder to every homeowners of the fundamental importance of maintaining good home insurance cover.”