ISO Reports Insurers to Pay $1.17 Billion for Hurricane Isabel Claims

Insurers are expected to pay $1.17 billion to homeowners and businesses for insured property losses from Hurricane Isabel that struck eight mid-Atlantic and northeastern states on Sept. 18-19, according to preliminary estimates by the Property Claim Services (PCS) unit of Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO).

Hurricane Isabel made landfall in North Carolina and then quickly moved inland, with strong wind downing trees and power lines along with heavy rain that caused interior water damage to residential and commercial property in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

PCS develops its insured property loss estimate from actual claims reported to insurers by homeowners and commercial policyholders.
Nearly 458,000 residential and commercial claims are anticipated from Isabel’s victims, said PCS.

At $450 million, Virginia sustained the greatest insured losses, followed by Maryland (including Washington D.C.) at $410 million and North Carolina at $170 million.

ISO’s PCS unit defines a catastrophe as an event within a particular territory that causes $25 million or more in insured property losses and affects a significant number of property and casualty policyholders and insurers.

PCS estimates represent anticipated insured loss on an industrywide basis arising from catastrophes, reflecting the total net insurance payment for personal and commercial property lines of insurance covering fixed property, personal property, vehicles, boats, related property items and business-interruption losses. The estimates exclude losses insured by the National Flood Insurance Program as well as all loss-adjustment expenses.