Privately insured losses from Milton close to $36 billion: KCC

Privately insured losses from Hurricane Milton, the second major hurricane to make landfall in Florida in just two weeks, will be close to $36 billion, catastrophe modeling company Karen Clark & Co. said Tuesday.

The estimate includes privately insured damage to residential, commercial and industrial properties and automobiles, including business interruption, the Boston-based company said. It does not include boats, offshore properties, or National Flood Insurance Program losses.

In contrast to Hurricane Helene, most of the damage from Milton was caused by wind, so a higher proportion of it will be insured, KCC said in a statement.

“While typically the highest wind speeds are observed to the right side of a hurricane relative to its movement, Hurricane Milton generated surface winds just as strong on the left side of the track,” the company said.

In some areas – particularly in eastern Florida where Milton exited the state—observed winds were higher on the left side of the track.

The strongest winds from Milton affected the landfall area including Sarasota, Bradenton and St. Petersburg. Hurricane-force winds also extended northward into Tampa and Orlando and even to Daytona Beach, the company said.

“Both to the north and south of the track, Hurricane Milton brought tropical storm winds to an extensive region, including the entire Florida Peninsula and extending north along the coastline into Georgia,” the statement said.

Milton, which made landfall Oct. 9 as a Category 3 storm near Sarasota, was the third Florida landfall of the season. Storm surge was highest south of Tampa, in Fort Myers and Naples.

Separately, catastrophe modeling company Moody’s RMS said Monday that private-market insured losses from Hurricanes Helene and Milton will likely range from a combined $35 billion to $55 billion.

Moody’s earlier estimated insured losses for Hurricane Helene at $8 billion to $14 billion.

Various factors, including complex hazard patterns and the overlap in damage between the two hurricanes, make it challenging to assess damage and could prolong the claims settlement process, Moody’s RMS said.