Hurricane Milton is set to be even more burdensome for insurers than Helene, insurers say, with losses estimated at up to $15 billion.
Florida’s already strained insurance market is still reeling from the destruction of Hurricane Helene, and is now due to face further pressure with Hurricane Milton barreling toward the state.
Mark Friedlander, the director of corporate communications at the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), told Newsweek that Hurricane Milton is set to be even more burdensome for insurers than Helene.
Friedlander said that based on current forecasts, Milton will likely be a “much larger windstorm loss event” than the last three landfall Florida hurricanes combined—Idalia in 2023 and Debby and Helene this year.
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Damage caused by winds is generally covered by property insurance, while damage caused by flooding is covered by a flood insurance policy.
Florida homeowners are already paying the highest insurance premiums in the country. Homeowners in the state paid an average annual premium of $11,163 as of July 2024, according to data shared with Newsweek by the virtual insurance company Insurify. The national average premium at this time was $2,435 per year.
These premiums have skyrocketed partly because of Florida’s increased risk of natural disasters.
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The extent of the damage caused by Helene is still unclear, with insured loss estimates widely varying.
Despite its status as a Category 4 hurricane, Friedlander said that Helene was a “moderate loss event” for Florida home insurers, with an estimated loss of $1 billion to $2 billion.
