Milton, Helene Claims Exceed $4.1B

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and Pasco counties are among the top in the state with the largest number of reported claims from Hurricanes Milton and Helene, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Together, total estimated insured losses for both storms exceed $4.1 billion.

Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key on Oct. 9 as a Category 3. As of Oct. 23, the total estimated insured losses are $2,799,386,318 with a total of 237,231 claims. Of those claims,190,623 are for residential properties, 7,848 for commercial and 1,433 for private flood insurance (most flood claims are filed under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)).

County-by-county with number of reported claims:

Hillsborough  48,480
Pinellas          34,274
Manatee        24,764
Sarasota        17,679
Polk               15,963
Pasco            13,516
Volusia           11,322
Lake               9,592 
Orange           8,386 
Lee                 7,088

So far, 9,642 residential property claims have been closed with payment and 16,946 have been closed without payment. Of the claims closed without payment, 986 were due to non-covered flood damage, 3,734 due to damage below the deductible and 12,226 due to other reasons (including the customer withdrawing the claim or the insured not being reachable). Overall, 15.8% of all claims have been closed.

Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene made landfall near the Big Bend region on Sept. 26 as a Category 4. As of Oct. 18, the total estimated insured losses are $1,327,126,378 with a total of 122,160 claims. Of those claims, 55,392 are for residential properties, 3,157 for commercial and 3,721 for private flood insurance (most flood claims are filed under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)). As of Sept. 30, 46,815 claims under the NFIP had been filed in Florida. It is likely not all claims are hurricane related.

County-by-county with number of reported claims:

Pinellas          41,716
Hillsborough  15,654
Pasco             8,782
Manatee         7,188
Sarasota         6,641
Charlotte        4,710
Duval              3,834
Lee                 2,820
Suwannee      2,274
Alachua          2,124

So far, 7,512 residential property claims have been closed with payment and 13,895 have been closed without payment. Of the claims closed without payment, 2,989 were due to non-covered flood damage, 3,327 due to damage below the deductible and 7,579 due to other reasons (including the customer withdrawing the claim or the insured not being reachable). Overall, 31.8% of all claims have been closed.

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