Bermuda Insurers, Reinsurers Expect $6 Billion in Hurricane Ida Losses

Bermuda insurers and reinsurers estimate they will incur $6 billion in gross claim losses as payments to US policyholders to cover damage from Hurricane Ida, according to the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA).

August's Hurricane Ida became the second most destructive hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana, behind only Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The estimate is from commercial insurers' market claims data collected by the Bermuda Monetary Authority in November. As of September 30, Bermuda reinsurers had paid $168 million in losses related to Hurricane Ida, the BMA said.

The BMA noted that estimates from catastrophe risk modelers show that insurance and reinsurance losses from Hurricane Ida are expected to total between $20 billion and $44 billion. The overall industry loss estimate for Hurricane Ida includes wind and storm surge losses along the Gulf of Mexico as well as losses from inland flooding in the Gulf Coast states, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast regions of the United States.

Bermuda insurers and reinsurers may incur as much as 30 percent of industry losses resulting from Hurricane Ida, the BMA said.

Hurricane Ida made landfall along the Louisiana coast on August 29 as a Category 4 hurricane, among the strongest to ever hit the state.