Insured Losses From Helene Expected to Reach $6.4 Billion
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The destruction from Hurricane Helene is expected to cost insurers about $6.4 billion, according to an early estimate from catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Company.
The insured losses in the estimate would cover wind, storm surge and inland flooding damage across nine states, KCC said in a statement Oct. 2.
Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region last week as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds reaching 140 mph. The storm wreaked havoc inland as far north as Ohio, bringing catastrophic flooding and leaving more than 100 people dead and millions without power.
Contrary to a typical Category 4 hurricane, Helene inflicted the highest toll far from the landfall point, with more wind damage in Georgia than Florida and the most devastation from inland flooding in North Carolina, according to KCC.
KCC’s assessment includes damage to privately insured automobiles as well as residential, commercial and industrial properties and the impact of business interruption.
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State Farm General Insurance Co. and Citizens Property Insurance Corp., two leading insurers in the Southeast, are bracing for the sector’s largest losses after fielding more than 60,000 claims combined.
Insured losses are much lower than the total economic impact, as flood damage is typically excluded from standard property policies and only covered by supplemental policies or from the National Flood Insurance Program. Property owners in Georgia and South Carolina also carry less flood coverage than people in Florida, which has been regularly battered by storms.
The total economic damage could hit $160 billion, according to an early projection from AccuWeather Inc. that also includes lost wages, canceled flights and supply chain disruptions. This would make Helene one of the five costliest storms in U.S. history.
