Short Takes: Hurricane Georges To Cost Insurers $1B

Property insurance claims from Hurricane Georges' Caribbean rampage will cost insurers more than $1 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute, New York.

The estimate, prepared by Risk Management Solutions of Menlo Park, Calif., and U.S. insurers, found that the majority of losses will come from commercial and industrial areas of Puerto Rico.

Household exposure is lower in the Caribbean than in the United States because just 30% of households have insurance, according to Robert Hartwig, an economist for the Insurance Information Institute.

Hurricane Hugo's rampage in 1989 cost more than $1.2 billion in insured losses in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER