Magazine date:
Sep 2003 The serious electricity blackout that paralyzed the American East Coast and parts of Canada for more than 24 hours, on Thursday August 14, will cost very little to insurance. On the following day of the catastrophe, the Insurance Information Institute in Washington was still unable to provide figures. For information only, experts have pointed out that in 1977 the losses following the 2-day blackout in New York did not exceed USD 2 million for goods insured. The riots that followed, however, raised this amount to USD 28 million.
Reminder: The majority of the policies exclude losses following the blackout. For individuals, only losses exceeding the franchise (generally fixed between USD 250 and 500) are compensated.