(Reuters) — Ratings agency A.M. Best Co. Inc. said it expects a significant share of the loss from Hurricane Maria to pass on to the global reinsurers evenly.
The agency said it expects the loss would remain within the overall risk tolerance of most affected reinsures.
However, the reinsures' earnings will be hurt and the impact could be significant for some, Best said Wednesday.
Maria roared ashore in Puerto Rico last Wednesday as the most powerful hurricane to strike the island in nearly a century, knocking out the territory's entire electrical grid, unleashing severe flooding and causing widespread heavy damage to homes and infrastructure.
The storm has claimed more than 30 lives across the Caribbean, including at least 16 in Puerto Rico.
It was the third major hurricane to hit the United States in less than a month, following Harvey in Texas and Irma in the Caribbean and Florida.
Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico on Sep. 21, caused widespread flooding, destroyed hundreds of homes, and brought down cell towers and power lines, plunging the island into darkness, the Los Angeles Times reports. Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said that the full extent of the damage in Puerto Rico remained unclear, as dozens of areas were still incommunicado late Thursday