AIR Worldwide puts insured Isaac losses as high as $2 billion
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Hurricane Isaac caused insured damage estimated at $700 million to $2 billion to onshore U.S. properties, catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide Corp. said Friday.
The estimate includes damage from wind and storm surge affecting onshore residential, commercial and industrial properties and their contents, automobiles as well as time-element coverage, which includes additional living expenses for residential properties and business interruption for commercial properties.
AIR noted that initial reports of Isaac's damage focused on flooding, but wind damage has received less attention.
“However, Isaac's slow forward speed and refusal to dissipate will exacerbate wind damage,” Tim Doggett, principal scientist at AIR, said in a statement. “As the winds persist, roof fasteners and connections can become fatigued and overloaded, causing additional damage, and the possibility of damage from flying building debris persists.”
AIR also said it takes less wind to knock down trees due to the rain-saturated soil.
The catastrophe modeler said it does not expect significant physical damage to offshore oil rigs and gas platforms from wind or waves. As a result of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005, Hurricane Gustav in 2008 and the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, business interruption coverage purchased by the energy industry is a “much rarer coverage than in years past,” AIR said.
AIR said it does not expect significant insured losses to offshore assets in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of Isaac.
