Rita seen Costing US Insurers $4.7 Billion
Date: 02-Nov-05
Country: USA
The ISO, which acts as a statistical clearinghouse for the insurance industry, said it expected claims from the state of Louisiana to account for more than one-half of the estimated losses, or $2.4 billion, followed by Texas, which is expected to account for $2.2 billion in claims.
The ISO said US insurers expect to receive more than 400,000 claims from policyholders for damage to homes, businesses, vehicles and boats caused by Rita, which slammed into the US Gulf Coast in late September.
The ISO predicted that rebuilding in the region could be delayed, however, because many construction industry workers in the affected states were displaced by Rita, or by Hurricane Katrina, the bigger storm that hit the Gulf in late August.
The ISO said the delays could be aggravated by high material and labor costs.
