© NBC NewsRodney King riot, 1992, Hayworth Ave., Los Angeles, CA
The total cost of damages from the riots sparked by the death of George Floyd
surpassed the cost of the 1992 Rodney King riots, according to estimates from insurance claims throughout the United States.
The string of riots that followed Floyd's death from May 26 to June 8 are expected to cost between $1 billion and $2 billion, according to Axios. The protests took place throughout
140 U.S. cities, with some of the demonstrations devolving into violent riots filled with
vandalism, arson, and looting.This year's riots surpassed the destruction that took place in 1992 in Los Angeles between April 29 and May 4, following the acquittal of the officers who had beaten King.
Those riots cost $775 million, or roughly $1.4 billion when adjusted for inflation.The data was released by Property Claim Services, a company that has tracked insurance claims following riots for decades.
The company classifies any riot that leads to more than $25 million in damage as a "catastrophe." The Insurance Information Institute, a company that compiled the data from the Property Claim Services, said the Floyd riots were exceptionally costly because they took place in several cities throughout the nation, while the
King riots were localized to Los Angeles.
"It's not just happening in one city or state โ it's all over the country," said Loretta Worters of the Insurance Information Institute.
Worters noted that the estimates only included data from the riots that took place from May 26 to June 8. She said that riots are "still happening" in many cities, including the recent riots in Rochester, New York."The losses could be significantly more," she added.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died on May 25 in Minneapolis police custody. His death prompted protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
Comment: As the 2020 riots have not ceased and costs are still mounting, one thing becomes crystal clear: The tab for unnecessary destruction on this scale comes out of the pockets of all the people, not the perpetrators, not the agenda creators, nor those politicians who encourage this behavior. Think insurance is going to cover it? Insurance companies survive on the amount of accrued 'donation' from active policies not tapped. The difference will be derived from public taxes and government (citizen) bailouts. Everyone holds a stick in this on-burning fire.
R.C.
*And assuming he's not a groundskeeper for JE's condo.