US: Insured losses in the US from Hurricane Ivan are expected to range from $3 billion to $6 billion, a risk assessment group said yesterday.
Risk Management Solutions, which provides catastrophe risk management products to the financial services sector, said it came up with its latest estimate after engineers examined wind damage in the Gulf Coast area where Hurricane Ivan struck on September 16th.
RMS last week estimated likely insured losses of between $2 billion and $7 billion.
On top of the US losses, Ivan caused insured damage of $1 billion to $2 billion in the Caribbean. The company said the area of strongest winds
on the US Gulf Coast was in Baldwin County, Alabama, and immediately to the east in Escambia County, Florida.
"More than half of the total loss is expected in Florida, where insurers have already sustained losses of $9 to $14 billion from hurricanes Charley and Frances," RMS said.
It added that Hurricane Ivan, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded, produced much higher levels of storm surge damage than the other two hurricanes this season.
- (Reuters)