A busy month of back-to-back hurricanes in September has left insurers paying billions in claims, but so far initial responses indicate lessons learned from Katrina are paying off.

Hurricane Gustav powered its way toward the Gulf Coast in late August and at one point reached Category 4-strength, meaning wind speeds were measured between 131 and 155 mph.

What had most insurers nervous, however, was whether Gustav would cause the kind of residential and commercial damage sustained when Hurricane Katrina hit almost three years ago to the day. The general consensus is that insurers dodged a bullet — even though claim payouts are expected to be in the billions — because the storm did not develop as strongly as expected and failed to make a direct hit on New Orleans.

“It seems that 2008 is turning into an active year for hurricanes,” said RMS' Dr. Christine Ziehmann. “This is what we would anticipate in this new period of heightened activity, which we've been experiencing since 1995.”

Two weeks later, Hurricane Ike made landfall as a Category 2-strength storm, causing destruction and power outages not only along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, but also in places as far away as the Midwest.

According to a report from Guy Carpenter, the center of Ike hit Galveston Island, Texas, on Sept. 13, with wind speeds of 110 mph. One of the storm's biggest predicted threats had been its storm surge, which the National Hurricane Center said could be more than 25 feet due to the large size of the storm. However, according to a report from risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide, the surge failed to reach that height, instead topping out at 13 feet. That was still enough to cause overflows at flood walls and barriers, resulting in significant flood damage to Galveston.

Despite the extensive flood losses, it is evident that Ike's winds will result in a high number of residential and commercial insurance claims, keeping catastrophe adjusters busy for months to come.

Guy Carpenter's summary report indicated that the day after Ike's landfall, much of the city of Houston remained without power, meaning some 2.4 million in the Houston area were in the dark, a fact that will contribute to a high number of business interruption claims. Additionally, the report stated that high winds had blown out the windows of many high-rise commercial buildings in Houston.

Ike also caused heavy rainfall and strong winds as it continued through the heart of the U.S. The states of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas reported extensive flood damage and power outages, spawned from the heavy rains and winds, and several people across these states were killed in drowning or wind-related incidents.

Learning from lessons taught by Katrina, many insurers were quick to point out some of the measures they are taking in order to react as quickly as possible to the insurance claims from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

In particular, State Farm, which has the most exposure in Louisiana, turned to different types of technology to help ease the claim process. The company deployed 33 satellite-equipped vehicles that can be taken to remote locations and set up so that they are operational within four hours. State Farm also had 12 mobile office facilities that allowed claim representatives to set up drive-in auto claim operations for automobiles affected by the storm.

Several months ago, State Farm also set up temporary hot spots that were located within 50 to 100 feet of a leased facility or a hotel. This allowed the company's claim representatives to connect to the Internet more quickly and without hard wiring. The company also utilized air cards, laptops, and GPS units.

Special Reports /

Gustav, Ike Make for Busy Month

Related Stories

Recommended For You