Hurricane Irene Damage Estimates

Clore Law · August 30 2011 Hurricane Irene left 27 people dead, 3 million customers without power and potentially billions of dollars in damage from flooding and wind. But the economic damage could have been a lot worse, experts said. Hurricane damage could total $7 billion, according to Kinetic Analysis Corp., which estimates the impact of natural and man-made disasters on the economy. Less than half of that -- some $3 billion -- will be covered by insurance, the company said. Eqecat, a catastrophe risk-modeling firm, said that South and North Carolina suffered between $200 million and $400 million in insured losses. And the Caribbean -- including the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and Puerto Rico -- suffered damage ranging from $300 million to $600 million.

Nc Hurricane Property Damage

But the full extent of the damage, in monetary terms, was unclear early as of Monday. The President declared North Carolina a disaster, making federal fund available to help with the recovery in Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico and Tyrrell counties. Last week, Hurricane Irene was preceded by dire projections. CoreLogic (CLGX), a provider of business information, estimated that about 1,875,000 residential and commercial properties along the coast from Wilmington, N.C., to Boston were at risk of storm surge flooding. CoreLogic said the areas at greatest risk were Long Island, N.Y., and Virginia Beach. But even if the storm wasn't as devastating as many expected, it will put further pressure on the insurance companies like Allstate (ALL, Fortune 500), Travelers Companies (TRV, Fortune 500) Inc., MetLife (MET, Fortune 500) and Chubb Corp (CB, Fortune 500). The insurance industry has already suffered multi-billion dollar losses from a tempestuous 2011. April storms in the Southern states caused about $5 billion in insured losses and a tornado the following month in Missouri caused $3 billion in damage. Insurance companies don't make money when they pay claims. As the stock market ticker symbol reminds us. these are publicly traded for profit companies. This is what lead to coverage insurance coverage disputes and hurricane damage estimate disputes. The Clorelaw Group negotiates insurance settlements. There are times when they have to go to trial to get the result the client deserve. They are prepared to take every client's case to trial if that is what is needed.

Home Owner Insurance Claim Nightmare

Power loss and structural damage from the storm are likely to affect other businesses, particularly retailers and construction contractors, for better or for worse, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses. If fortunate enough to have bought business insurance interruption insurance, you are covered. Collecting a claim may prove far more difficult than you imagined when you made the prudent decision to insurance your business for this event. More: [url=https://money.cnn.com/2011/08/29/news/economy/hurricane_economic_impact/index.htm]https://money.cnn.com/2011/08/29/news/economy/hurricane_economic_impact/index.htm[/url]