PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jeffrey Czajkowski
AU  - Kevin M. Simmons
TI  - Convective Storm Vulnerability: Quantifying the Role of Effective and Well-Enforced Building Codes in Minimizing Missouri Hail Property Damage
AID  - 10.3368/le.90.3.482
DP  - 2014 Aug 01
TA  - Land Economics
PG  - 482--508
VI  - 90
IP  - 3
4099  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/90/3/482.short
4100  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/90/3/482.full
SO  - Land Econ2014 Aug 01; 90
AB  - Implementing strong building codes is touted as a way to reduce natural disaster property damages. However, at the local level not all jurisdictions adopt equally stringent codes nor properly enforce their codes once they have been adopted. We empirically test whether zip code jurisdictions with effective and well-enforced building codes demonstrate better loss experience from the occurrence of a hail storm than those without. We model Missouri hail claim insurance data from 2008 to 2010. Our results consistently indicate that more favorable building codes do in fact matter in reducing hail damage on the order of 10% to 20%. (JEL Q54, Q58)