Insured losses caused by the hurricane Milton could vary between 30 to 60 billion dollars – said the analyst from Morningstar DBRSMarcos Alvarez – below the highest estimates produced by the ratings agency before the hurricane’s arrival. The passage of Milton left heavy signs of destruction in Florida, but the Tampa Bay area, contrary to forecasts, seems to have managed to avoid the most violent wave of the storm.
At the beginning of last week, Reuters reports, Morningstar DBRS had announced that insured losses could reach 100 billion dollars.
“The worst-case scenario of ‘a direct hurricane hit to Tampa Bay’ did not materialize,” Marcos Alvarez, managing director of Morningstar DBRS’ global financial institutions ratings division, told Reuters, adding that insured losses range between $30 billion and $60 billion.”should be manageable for the industry, except for some local Florida companies that may have particularly heavy direct exposure.”
The hurricane threatens to overwhelm Florida’s troubled property insurance market, potentially driving up prices and jeopardizing coverage in a storm-prone area that already has the highest insurance costs in the United States.
Last Thursday the rating agency Fitch had estimated insured losses of between 30 and 50 billion dollars, the most expensive event since Hurricane Ian in 2022, while according to the broker Aon the insured losses caused by Milton should be counted in a few dozen of billions.
