Insured industry losses to onshore property for Hurricane Milton could range from $30 billion to $50 billion, according to a forecast from the Extreme Event Solutions group at Verisk (NASDAQ: VRSK).
The new forecast noted the back-to-back impact of Hurricane Helene and Milton over a short time period could have effects on the loss development and settlement for both storms, with areas around Tampa Bay, south to Siesta Key, and along the coast due south toward Fort Myers seeing damage from both storms.
Verisk noted that while Milton is expected to have a significantly higher insured loss tally than Helene, the difference between the events insured losses is driven in large part by the lower take up rates on flooding in areas impacted by Helene, particularly inland areas impacted by precipitation-induced flooding. Also, Verisk’s modeling of both storms indicated that the overall levels of damage between the two events were comparable – but due to a higher proportion of loss due to wind from Milton, a greater percentage of the potentially insurable loss will be paid out by the insurance industry.
“The US is once again faced with recovering from a devastating hurricane that tragically took the lives of many individuals,” said Rob Newbold, president of Verisk Extreme Event Solutions. “We are committed to learning from these events to support the safety, security and resilience of the people and communities affected, and of others across the world.”
Verisk’s industry insured loss estimate involves onshore residential, commercial, and industrial properties and automobiles for their building, contents, and time element coverage, as well as the impact of demand surge. The loss estimates do not include such factors as losses paid out by the National Flood Insurance Program, losses to uninsured properties, non-modeled losses including those resulting from tornadoes spawned by the storm, and losses for offshore assets and non-US property.
Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Service
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