Ida and pandemic could prove a vicious cycle

Insured losses from Hurricane Ida, which struck Louisiana on Sunday could be boosted could by “ pandemic pricing”, according to insurers. Reuters reports insurer warning that increases in the costs lumber and labour as a result of the crisis could increase the costs of rebuilding following flooding and storm damage.

At the same time, the hurricane could also worsen the pandemic, according to cat risk loss specialists PCS. It noted that the states in Ida’s path, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, along with others potentially impacted such as Alabama, are among those with the highest Covid case rates in the US.

Efforts to relieve the devastation from winds and flooding could worsen the pandemic, it claimed.

“Evaluated by seven-day case rate per 100,000 population, the states currently forecast to be affected by Hurricane Ida are among the most exposed in the country. Mississippi has the highest rate, and Louisiana is third. Further, only Virginia has a rate of full vaccination over 50 percent, with a quarter of the states on the list below 40 percent,” read its briefing on Sunday.

“Factors that could be associated with evacuation (such as crowding in shelters or even mixing households) could increase the risk of further COVID-19 transmission in the weeks ahead,” it warned.

The business calculated a Covicane Impact Score for each state. Mississippi, with a score of 327, Alabama (361.73) and Louisiana (1,687.36) are projected to see the highest risks based  historical catastrophe loss activity and current COVID-19 activity.