Idalia losses in Florida near $160M

Tina Brotherton, 88, looks over the remains of her business, Tina’s Dockside Inn, which was completely destroyed in Hurricane Idalia, as was Brotherton’s nearby home, in Horseshoe Beach, Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, two days after the storm’s passage. A resident of Horseshoe Beach since 1978, she lost her marina and the café next door in a 1993 disaster and had to replace the floors and beds at Tina’s Dockside Inn. Now the hotel, which she has owned for 52 years, is destroyed in Idalia’s wake. Image via AP/Rebecca Blackwell.

Damage from Hurricane Idalia has already resulted in nearly $160 million in estimated insured losses, and that number is rising by the millions daily.

The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) website showed that as of Monday, estimated insured losses exceeded $159.1 million from 17,681 claims, up from $156.4 million Sunday based on 17,472 claims and $135.7 million Thursday from 15,444 claims.

Sept. 11 figures included 12,177 residential property claims, of which 21.2% have been closed. There were another 4,624 claimed losses for automobiles, aircraft and various machinery, among other things, of which 27.4% were already closed.

Of 656 commercial property claims, 87% remained outstanding, with 44 claims closed with payment and another 44 closed without.

The OIR is encouraging consumers having issues with a claim to report it.

Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area, where the Panhandle curves into the state peninsula, near Keaton Beach minutes before 8 a.m. Aug. 30.

The maelstrom struck at Category 3 strength, bringing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and up to 9-foot storm surges in some areas before moving up through North Florida and into Georgia.

According to data analytics and risk assessment firm Verisk Analytics, losses from Idalia could swell to $4 billion, with the majority of that sum stemming from wind damage.

By comparison, there were more than $17.2 billion in estimated insured losses in Florida from Hurricane Ian and $253 million from Hurricane Nicole last year, $577 million from Hurricane Sally in 2020, $19 million from Hurricane Dorian in 2019, $9 billion from Hurricane Michael in 2018, $20.6 billion from Hurricane Irma in 2017 and $1.18 billion from Hurricane Matthew in 2016.