Cotality puts Hurricane Isaias insured losses at $2bn-$3bn, below pre-landfall broker ranges

Cotality has estimated industrywide insured wind and storm surge losses from Hurricane Isaias at $2 billion to $3 billion, the first post-landfall estimate for the storm, per Insurance Business America. Most of the damage sits in the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama. Isaias came ashore near Destin, Florida, on October 9 with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, weakened quickly and became a post-tropical cyclone over Alabama on Saturday. Cotality said flooding remains the main lingering threat.

Before landfall, Gallagher Re and Marsh Re both put potential insured losses in the mid-single-digit billions, and BMS Group estimated $4 billion to $6 billion, above the Cotality range. AccuWeather's preliminary $16 billion to $20 billion figure covers total damage and economic loss rather than insured loss. Moody's said before landfall that Isaias was tracking similarly to Hurricane Sally. Sally made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama, in 2020 as a Category 2 storm and generated about $2 billion in privately insured losses, according to Karen Clark & Company, excluding National Flood Insurance Program losses that added hundreds of millions more.

Whether the range holds matters for aggregate structures that count 2026 U.S. storm losses toward attachment. Cotality's figure is below the pre-landfall broker ranges, implying more remaining headroom under such covers than those projections suggested, though this is a first look and claims development is early. The APCIA said wind and severe-weather damage is typically covered under standard homeowners, renters or business policies, while flood damage requires separate NFIP or private flood cover.