Insurance losses from Hurricane Helene are estimated to reach $6.4 billion

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(Bloomberg) — Destruction from Hurricane Helene is expected to cost insurers about $6.4 billion, according to an early estimate by catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & ​​Company.

Insured losses from the estimate would cover wind damage, storm surge and inland flooding in nine states, KCC said in a statement on Wednesday.

Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region last week as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of up to 140 miles per hour. The storm wreaked havoc inland as far north as Ohio, bringing catastrophic flooding and leaving more than 100 people dead and millions without power.

Unlike a typical Category 4 hurricane, Helene took the heaviest toll away from landfall, with more wind damage in Georgia than Florida and the most devastating inland flooding in North Carolina, according to KCC.

KCC’s assessment includes damage to privately insured cars as well as residential, commercial and industrial properties and the impact of business interruption.

State Farm General Insurance Co. and Citizens Property Insurance Corp., two top Southeast insurers, are bracing for the industry’s biggest losses after filing more than 60,000 claims combined.

Read more: State Farm, Citizens Prepare for Hurricane Helene Losses

Insured losses are much smaller than the total economic impact because flood damage is typically excluded from standard property policies and covered only by supplemental policies or the National Flood Insurance Program. Property owners in Georgia and South Carolina also have less flood coverage than people in Florida, which has been hit regularly by storms.

Total economic damage could reach $160 billion, according to an early projection by AccuWeather Inc. which also includes lost wages, canceled flights and supply chain disruptions. That would make Helene one of the five costliest storms in US history.