With two Florida landfalls in the same day, Hurricane Irma’s destructive wind and flood damage could cost up to $65 billion for both insured and uninsured losses, according to a recent estimate by CoreLogic.
Residential property flood loss is estimated at up to $38 billion, CoreLogic reported on Sept. 19, noting that includes storm surge, inland and flash flooding in five states – Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Eighty percent of the flood damage is uninsured, the company said.
Reported insured flood loss for commercial properties could top out at $8 billion.
AIR Worldwide estimated insured losses for the U.S. resulting from Irma will range between $25 billion – $35 billion.
The catastrophe modeling firm noted the hurricane-force winds extended 80 miles from the eye and tropical storm-force winds extended more than 400 miles, covering the entire state and driving storm surge into both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Downed trees, signs and utility poles and flooded or debris-strewn streets could be seen in the southern regions of the state, AIR Worldwide reported.
Karen Clark & Company estimated losses in the U.S and Caribbean at $25 billion. Of the $18 billion insured loss in the U.S., the majority is in Florida, followed by Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama, KCC reported.
As of Sept. 25, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reported more than 491,000 residential property claims and just over 23,000 commercial property claims had been filed. Including all types of losses, total estimated insured losses had passed the $3.6 billion mark.
According to A.M. Best, the top five homeowners’ insurers in Florida are: Universal Insurance Holdings Group, Tower Hill Group, State Farm, Federated National Insurance Co., and Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
In response to the storm, Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company reported it has more than $300 million in surplus, as well as a catastrophe reinsurance program that provides $2.65 billion in coverage to cover an event like Hurricane Irma.
Topics Florida Trends Catastrophe Natural Disasters Profit Loss Flood Property Hurricane
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