Insurers may take US$4.3b hit from Hurricane Zeta in US

[WASHINGTON] Insurers are bracing for a hit of about US$4.3 billion from Hurricane Zeta in the United States, catastrophe modeling company Karen Clark & Co (KCC) said on Monday.

At least six people were killed in the southeast of the United States and more than 2 million people were without power on Thursday after Hurricane Zeta slammed into the Gulf Coast and moved northeast.

Overall, nine US states were hit by Hurricane Zeta, with the highest losses in Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia, KCC said, adding that 2020 had been a record year for named storms that made a landfall.

The loss forecast includes damage to residential, commercial and industrial properties as well as automobiles, KCC said.

Karen Clark also estimated an US$80 million hit to insurers in Mexico from the hurricane.

Separately, catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimated insured losses from the hurricane in the range of US$1.5 billion to US$3.5 billion.

REUTERS