Insured losses in Florida related to Hurricane Idalia are unlikely to equal those from 2022’s Hurricane Ian, though property insurers’ 2023 underwriting results "will be under pressure,” AM Best says. 

Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida as a category three storm on August 30 with winds of more than 200 kilometres an hour. It caused significant property damage that will result in sizeable losses for the insurance industry, AM Best says. 

However, Idalia’s path was across the more sparsely populated Big Bend region, which has lower insured values than other coastal areas.  

Given hardening reinsurance market conditions and increased retentions in the recent past, the impact on reinsurance is expected to be minimal, AM Best says. 

“Hurricane Idalia appears to be an earnings event for insurers. However, it follows above average catastrophe losses in first half of 2023, mainly due to severe convective storms and secondary perils,” the report said.  

Florida’s property insurance market has endured significant losses in recent years, and some reinsurers have been re-evaluating their exposure and capital allocation targets. In the past two years, the Florida property market has become more concentrated, with only 15 companies accounting for over 60% of property direct premiums written in the state. 
 
“Reinsurers are likely to remain selective about the risks to reinsure, further challenging the Florida property writers,” the agency said. 

Hurricane Ian, which struck a year ago, was the costliest hurricane in Florida’s history and the costliest insurance event last year. Moody’s RMS estimated in March the insurance cost to be somewhere between $US53 billion ($78.45 billion) and $74 billion ($109.53 billion). 

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.