Florida Insurance Claims Crest $4 Billion

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Florida's three hurricane landfalls this year caused more than $4.5 billion in estimated insured losses, according to the state Office of Insurance Regulation.

T​he storms - Debby, Helene and Milton - all hit within a period of about two months. Helene and Milton were just two weeks apart.

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W​hat the Numbers Say

Data from the state shows that more than 269,000 insurance claims related to Milton were filed as of Friday, and about 130,000 from Helene. An additional 21,000 were filed for Debby as of Sept. 27.

B​ut the claims are only a small snapshot of the cost, according to experts interviewed by weather.com.

"What we've seen after these types of flood events is most people, more than 90% of people, rely on their own savings or borrowing in the private market to help recover from these types of losses," said Charles Nyce, a Florida State University professor whose expertise includes insurance and risk management.

(​MORE: Florida Island Landmark Washed Away By Milton)

The Florida numbers don't include flood insurance, which is run by the federal government and tallied separately. Total numbers of those claims so far weren't immediately available, but an update from the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in an update on Oct. 25 that 54,000 flood claims had been filed from Hurricane Helene across the Southeast.

L​ack of flood insurance is one of the key reasons claims on homeowner's insurance are refused, according to the OIR.

“So, in general people are not well versed on insurance," Nyce said. "They don't understand that the homeowners policy doesn't cover everything."

A​nd while the amount of insured losses seems massive, it's relatively small compared to other recent single storms. Ian in 2022, for example, had more than $21 billion in insured losses.

H​ow Storms Are Changing

Scientists say global warming is fueling storms that become more intense more rapidly and bring more extreme rainfall.

While it takes time to study individual storms and any connection to climate change, this year has seen several high-powered storms.

"For example, in less than three weeks, we've seen four separate tropical cyclones - Milton, Oscar, Kristy and Kong-rey - rapidly intensify in three different ocean basins," weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said.

(​MORE: Here's How Hurricanes Are Changing)

Whether hurricanes will become more frequent is a topic of extensive research.

"Potential conflicting signals in a warming planet - warmer oceans, but a drier, more stable atmosphere - make any influence on the number of hurricanes less clear," Erdman said.

What We Can Learn From Florida

Jeff Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, says restructuring insurance would help.

"But at the end of the day, it's prevent the damage in the first place, preventing the physical damage through updated building codes, through more investments and things like flood mitigation and preparedness programs," Schlegelmilch said.

I​t's a lesson for everyone, not just those in Florida, Schlegelmilch and Nyce said. Billion-dollar disasters are on the rise, including from wildfires, drought and winter storms.

(​MORE: Why This Year's 5 Hurricane Landfalls Were Unusual)

"It's not just hurricanes that are driving the volatility and losses" in insurance, Nyce said. "This is happening in big portions of the United States that we're not used to seeing these types of losses."

Helene is the perfect example.

"I think in uninsured areas and other economies that have to absorb this, in North Carolina and elsewhere, it's going to be a tougher road ahead," Schlegelmilch said.

Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.