Claims data shows Florida hurricane Matthew loss rises to $549m

Insurance claims from hurricane Matthew have now reached $549 million, according to data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, but the rate of increase has slowed significantly, rising less than one hundred million dollars in the last week.

The first update from the regulator had shown that hurricane Matthew losses from insurance claims filed hit $218 million by the 12th October, then rose strongly to $454 million of insurance claims filed by Friday 14th of October, representing 75,215 claims made.

Now, in a fresh update, the Florida insurance and reinsurance industry regulator has shared data showing the total now reaching $549 million, based on claims filings received by the afternoon of Friday 21st October.

The new figure is taken from 91,212 filed claims, of which 25.7% have been closed with almost 12% receiving a payment. With over almost 68,000 claims open as of Friday and around 46% of closed claims having received a payment so far, it’s easy to see how the total could rise over the coming weeks, amplifying the need for insurance and reinsurance capital support.

There remains an expectation that a significant proportion of losses from hurricane Matthew will fall to reinsurance capital providers, including capital market investors through some ILS funds, collateralised reinsurance covers and also some reinsurance sidecars.

Insurance and reinsurance industry loss estimates for hurricane Matthew continue to suggest a range from as low as $4 billion to perhaps as much as $8 billion, including the damage suffered in the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

In the latest figures from the Florida insurance regulator, private residential property losses remain the bulk of the filed claims, with homeowners leading the way, while commercial, business interruption, other lines and flood all having much fewer claims filed.

Volusia county continues to lead the way , in terms of claims filed, with now 26,664 of the claims occurring there, still followed by Duval, Brevard, St Johns and Flagler.

With almost 68,000 claims still open the loss adjusting community has its work cut out to demonstrate that the insurance industry can deal with these claims rapidly. Some reinsurance payouts are reported to have already made their way to cedents, but for many indemnity covers the full claims bill will dictate where the payouts go and so it could be some weeks before the market understands its full exposure.

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Also read:

– Hurricane Matthew insured loss up to $5bn U.S., $3bn Caribbean: RMS.

– ILS funds face minimal realised loss, some writedowns on Matthew: Milliman.

– 50% of mid-estimate $5bn Matthew loss to fall to reinsurance: JPM.

– AIR puts hurricane Matthew insured loss at up to $8.8bn.

– KCC puts hurricane Matthew insured losses at $7 billion.

– Matthew losses to largely fall within catastrophe budgets: Peel Hunt.

– Early Hurricane Matthew insured loss estimates suggest up to $6bn.