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Hurricane Laura insured losses estimated at close to $9 billion

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Hurricane Laura

Insured losses from Hurricane Laura will be close to $9 billion, according to Boston-based catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Co.

Laura caused some $8.7 billion of losses to onshore properties in the U.S. from wind and storm surge and $200 million in the Caribbean, KCC said in a statement Monday.

The estimate doesn’t include potential impacts on losses from COVID-19.

Also Monday, catastrophe risk-modeling firm AIR Worldwide said insured losses to onshore property from Laura will range from $4 billion to $8 billion. AIR Worldwide is a unit of Verisk Analytics.

A report released Friday by data and analytics firm CoreLogic estimated insured wind and storm surge losses for residential and commercial properties in Louisiana and Texas due to Laura at $8 billion to $12 billion.

Laura made landfall on Aug. 27 near Cameron, Louisiana, close to the Texas border, as a strong Category 4 storm. The storm had 150 mph maximum sustained winds at landfall — the strongest in Louisiana since the Last Island hurricane in 1856, but peak storm surge heights did not reach the worst-case predictions of the National Hurricane Center, and flooding damage was less severe than projected, KCC said.

Wind damage was greatest in Louisiana, with reports of some structures destroyed and others with their roofs and facades torn off, upended vehicles, and damage to power lines, roads, railways and other infrastructure.

Laura also made landfall in Antigua, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

State Farm Group has a 22.4% share of the property/casualty market in Louisiana, according to data from A.M. Best & Co. This is measured by direct premiums written and includes commercial multi-peril, homeowners, farmowners, fire and allied lines.

Allstate Insurance Group has the next largest share at 9.5%, followed by Progressive Insurance Group at 5.9% and Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos. at 5.5%, according to Best data.