Natural disasters

Hurricane Milton was moving off Florida's east coast after cutting a path of destruction through the state, leaving residents to assess the damage from one of the most feared storms in recent history.

Estimates for insured losses from Hurricane Helene have climbed to as much as $14 billion, even as insurers are preparing for more devastation from Hurricane Milton.

Total insured wind and flood losses are predicted to be between $10.5 billion and $17.5 billion, according to CoreLogic. Earlier estimates placed the cost of insured damages between $3 billion and $5 billion.

Tropical Storm Milton, with winds of 40 miles per hour, is forecast to build into at least a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph when it makes landfall in western Florida on Oct. 9, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Severe repetitive loss (SRL) properties are a growing category.

The destruction from Hurricane Helene is expected to cost insurers roughly $6.4 billion, according to an early estimate from catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Company.

As historic floodwaters unleashed by Hurricane Helene recede across the U.S. Southeast, the region faces a humanitarian, economic and ecological crisis of staggering scope, with effects likely to last years.

Digital Insurance spoke with Mike Causey, North Carolina's Commissioner of Insurance, about conditions on the ground following Hurricane Helene, and his department's work on relief efforts and damage claims.

The horror Helene left in its wake has shocked the city of 94,000, and the inland devastation illustrates a broader danger about hurricanes.

State and federal relief efforts are stepping in to help areas hit by Helene that are not covered by flood insurance.

From Indiana to Florida, more than 3.2 million customers are without power with South Carolina accounting for about 31%, according to PowerOutage.us.

An onslaught of four natural disasters $5.3 billion of insured losses across Canada in just two months — more than any other summer on record.

California ordered home insurers to maintain coverage during the next year for 750,000 customers in four counties ravaged by wildfires that are still burning east of Los Angeles.

As the planet warms and more natural disasters occur, insurers are facing an increasingly difficult time.

Captive insurance, where companies create their own coverage vehicles, is on the rise, according to insurance broker Aon Plc.

The annual loss could rise to $151 billion from the average annual loss of $106 billion reported over the past five years, according to the analysis by Verisk, a risk modeling firm.

Tips for agents as they help consumers navigate the current landscape.

The rate hike, which will take effect from November, will impact about 350,000 policyholders across California.

As high temperatures break records around the US and wildfires rip through the West, another climate-driven weather hazard — extreme rainfall — is pummeling the country's Northeast and scientists say it will get worse as the climate changes.

Swiss Re AG's first-half net income beat estimates, as the re-insurer avoided higher claims from natural catastrophes that have impacted the broader insurance industry.