Five Weeks After Isaias, 68,000 Claims and $736M in Losses, Florida Carrier Data Show

Property insurance claims from Hurricane Isaias have so far reached 68,000, totaling $736 million in losses, putting the Oct. 9 storm in line with Hurricane Sally, a minor storm that hit the same Panhandle area in 2020.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s data, updated Nov. 6, show that 47,048 Isaias claims have come from homeowners, with another 7,825 claims from private passenger auto policyholders.

The hurricane made landfall near Destin, Florida, but unusual northerly winds appeared to cause the most damage in Santa Rosa County and in Escambia County, home to Pensacola, the largest city in northwestern Florida. So far, almost 32,000 claims have come from Santa Rosa policyholders along with 21,119 from Escambia.

Sally, a storm of similar size and intensity, resulted in similar loss numbers: almost 72,000 claims, about 47,147 of which came from homeowners, and $577 million in total insured losses, posted five weeks after landfall, according to the OIR data as reported by carriers.

With inflation, the total insured losses from Sally would be about the same as the Isaias claims at five weeks after the storm.

In Isaias, about 14,400 claims have been closed without payment, or about 21%. That’s about the same percentage seen in Sally. The most common reason for claims closed without payment is that the amount of damage was below the policy’s deductible, the data indicate.

Insurance agents and carriers have said that most of the residential damage in Isaias’s 110-mph winds came from falling trees and limbs. After homeowners realized that the repair cost would fall below their deductibles, many claims were withdrawn.

The OIR data show that more than 5,370 claims were closed without payment because of administrative reasons, which includes claims withdrawn by insureds.

Just 326 claims were closed without payment because it was damage from flooding, and the property owners did not carry flood insurance on their structures.

Islam Mahfuz salvages contents of his destroyed mini mart in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias in Milton. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Topics Carriers Florida Claims Profit Loss Numbers Hurricane