(Reuters) – Insured losses in the private market are expected to be between $3 billion and $5 billion as a result of Hurricane Idalia that hit Florida’s Big Bend region last week, Moody’s catastrophe risk modeling firm said in a report Monday.
Idalia hit Florida’s Gulf Coast with fierce winds, heavy rainfall and pounding surf before weakening but turning toward southeastern Georgia, where flooding trapped residents in their homes.
The estimates represented insured losses associated with wind, storm surge, and precipitation-induced flooding from the hurricane.
“Great Hurricane Idalia could have had a much greater impact if the storm had followed a different track or not weakened just before landfall,” said Jeff Waters of Moody’s RMS.
The report also said it expects about $500 million in losses to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) from the hurricane.
(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru, Editing by Ed Osmond)
