Insurance carriers in Louisiana have paid or reserved $10.5 billion on all types of claims related to Hurricane Ida, which devastated the state on August 29th, 2021, as a Category 4 storm after making a prior landfall in the Caribbean.
The $10.5 billion figure comes from Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, who reveals that policyholders have filed 434,633 claims of all types from Hurricane Ida as of December 31st, 2021, with 83% of claims closed.
Of those claims, 60%, or 259,134 were closed with payment, resulting in $6.5 billion in payments for damage caused by Hurricane Ida.
Commissioner Donelon commented: “Louisiana’s resiliency has been thoroughly tested in 2020 and 2021. Paid claims for Hurricane Ida represent a way forward for those most affected by this hurricane.
“This $10.5 billion will help Louisiana policyholders rebuild their lives, homes and businesses.”
The information provided by Commissioner Donelon was produced from a data call issued by the Louisiana Department of Insurance to all authorised property and casualty insurers, including surplus lines insurers, to submit their claims data on Ida.
The Commissioner explains that the figures include claims from both personal and commercial insurance, while claims data from FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is not included as it is not regulated by the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance says that it will continue collecting data from P&C insurers to monitor the claims process. The deadline for data is October 7th, 2022.
Hurricane Ida has had a significant impact on insurance and reinsurance markets, with estimates for the industry loss ranging from as low as $25 billion to as high as $40 billion.
