RMS says Hurricane Nicholas losses will range between $1.1bn and $2.2bn

RMS estimates that US insured losses from Hurricane Nicholas will be between $1.1bn and $2.2bn.

The figures includes wind, storm and inland flooding losses, including to the US National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

RMS estimates between $700m to $1.4bn in privately insured wind and storm surge losses, as well as between $200m and $300m for private inland flood claims.

The estimate also includes $200m to $500m of NFIP losses in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico region.

Karen Clark & Co (KCC) placed insured losses from Nicholas at close to $950m earlier this week.

The RMS loss figure covers property damage and business interruption to residential, commercial, industrial and automobile lines. The estimate also factors in post-loss amplification.

Hurricane Nicholas made landfall on 14 September near Sargent Beach, Texas as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometres per hour.

The storm brought hurricane-force winds and prolonged heavy rainfall to the central Gulf Coast, including many areas in southern Louisiana still recovering from Hurricane Ida, as well as last year’s Laura and Delta hurricanes.

“A notable impact from this event is the rainfalls, especially in Louisiana, where many towns and cities are still in the early stages of recovery after Hurricane Ida. RMS event response teams estimate roughly 40% of postal codes in Louisiana that were impacted by flooding in Nicholas were also impacted by flooding from Ida a few weeks earlier. We expect the overlapping nature of these two storms to further amplify losses, including the risk of rainfall infiltration, and to prolong the claims settlement process,” said Jeff Waters, senior product manager, RMS North Atlantic Hurricane Models.

Hurricane Nicholas was the 14th named storm of the 2021 north Atlantic hurricane season and the sixth hurricane. It was the second hurricane to make landfall this season.

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