New estimates for Ida
New estimates continue to come through for losses from Hurricane Ida. Yesterday, property information and analytics experts CoreLogic put insured losses across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama at $14 billion to $21bn, with up to $19bn additional uninsured losses.
Wind damage across residential and commercial property is expected to account for up to $12bn of damage, with the remainder due to flood. More than 90% of the losses are estimated to be in Louisiana, primarily in the nine parishes in the New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond metropolitan area and the Ascension, Lafourche, Livingston and Terrebonne parishes immediately to the west.
“While only 40 to 50% of the flood damages from Hurricane Ida appear to be covered by insurance, this is actually an improvement from the uninsured flood damages we saw from Hurricanes Harvey and Katrina,” said Tom Larsen, principal, insurance solutions at CoreLogic.
“The flood insurance gap is shrinking.”
Karen Clark & Company (KCC) has also updated its initial estimates made as Ida approached. Based on its models, the company calculates that the insured loss from Hurricane Ida will be close to $18 billion. Of this, almost all will come from wind and storm surge losses in the US. Just $40 million is from the Caribbean, following Ida’s landfall with 80mph winds near La Columba, Cuba, on August 27, two days before it hit Port Fourchon, Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph.
In Cuba and the Cayman Islands, losses have been limited to non-structural damage, downed trees, and power outages, KCC reports. In the US, significant structural damage, downed trees and powerlines were reported throughout the region. Structural roof damage was widespread, and there were instances of collapsed buildings. Peak storm surge from Hurricane Ida exceeded eight feet along the Louisiana coast and lower levels from the central Louisiana coast to Mobile, Alabama. The New Orleans levee system kept most of the damage at bay, however, with some exceptions.
The estimate includes the privately insured damage to residential, commercial, and industrial properties and automobiles but does not include boats, offshore properties, or NFIP losses.
