Insurance Services Office, Inc., said property-casualty losses from Hurricane Katrina are expected to cost U.S. insurers $34.4 billion in insured property losses, making it the mostly costly U.S. catastrophe in history.
In inflation-adjusted dollars, the storm beats out 1992′s Hurricane Andrew with $20.8 billion in insured losses.
The Jersey City, N.J.-based insurance services provider said the estimate comes from ISO's Property Claim Services unit and is based on insurer surveys.
ISO said policyholders in six states, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia are expected to file more than 1.6 million claims for damage to personal and commercial property, automobiles, boats and yachts.
The personal property loss claims include nearly 75,000 boats and yachts in the affected states, with an estimated insurance value of slightly under $2 billion.
ISO said insurers are still assessing claims, which have been difficult to track down due to the excessive damage, difficulty getting into some areas, and the evacuation of policyholders to other states.
PCS said it would resurvey insurers in 60 days as more claims are filed.
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