BOSTON—Hurricane Earl brushed the U.S. Southeast last week, but risk modelers said they did not expect significant insured losses.

In a statement late in the week, Oakland, Calif.-based EQECAT Inc. said it did not expect insured losses in North Carolina and Virginia to reach $100 million.

Separately, Boston-based AIR Worldwide Corp. did not expect “significant insured losses” in those states. It noted reports of flooding along North Carolina's Outer Banks as well as debris in roads.

“Otherwise, Earl's winds did little structural damage to properties on North Carolina's barrier islands, where buildings are subject to strict design requirements,” the Boston-based catastrophe modeler said in a statement. “AIR expects some damage to nonstructural elements, such as signage and awnings. The potential also exists for windborne debris to have broken windows, possibly leading to contents damage.”

In a Friday news conference, North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue said the state had “dodged a bullet” and many of its beaches had reopened for Labor Day weekend.

A weakened Earl moved toward New England, with potential for damage to Cape Cod and elsewhere.

In its analysis, EQECAT noted uncertainty about Earl's potential for damage as it approached the Northeast but downplayed the probability of major damage beyond “localized incidents.” “If the winds onshore from this event remain as forecasted, EQECAT will not provide a loss estimate for this event,” the modeling firm said.

Earlier, AIR estimated Earl caused $50 million to $150 million in insured losses in the Virgin Islands, St. Martin/St. Maarten and Puerto Rico before heading toward the United States.