(Bloomberg) -- Hurricanes and tropical storms across the Atlantic caused about $110 billion in damages and losses this year, $65 billion of which will be borne by insurers, according to Munich Re.
Ian, a powerful hurricane that slammed into Florida in September, inflicted $100 billion in losses by itself and could cost private insurers as much as $60 billion, Munich said in a report. The insured losses don’t include those covered by the National Flood Insurance Program. Hurricane Katrina, the costliest storm on record, triggered $186 billion in losses when it devastated New Orleans in 2005.
“Tropical cyclones are one of the biggest risks for insurers,” the report said. “The current state of the research is that, although, the total number of storms globally will not increase as a result of climate change, there will be a rise in the proportion of particularly severe storms and storms with extreme precipitation.”
The Atlantic saw 14 named storms in the six-month season that ends Wednesday, making this an average year as unusually dry air and cooler water suppressed activity through the end of August. The other damaging storm of the season was Fiona, which knocked out Puerto Rico’s power grid and then went on to hit Atlantic Canada.
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