Report: Hurricane Ian statewide insured losses exceed $21B

Hurricane Ian caused more than $21 billion in insured losses, based on the latest damage estimates from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. It reported 93.7% of claims had been closed as of late April.

The hurricane hit in September 2022, causing damage for more than half a million of the state's residents. Catastrophic storm surge, heavy rain and 150 mph winds wiped out or damaged structures as well as some roads and bridges, with the Fort Myers area particularly impacted.

Across Florida, there were 776,941 claims filed following the storm, from homeowners, commercial property owners and those whose businesses were disrupted or vehicles damaged, the insurance regulation agency reports. 

More than 558,000 of those claims were for residential properties; over 33,000 of the claims were for commercial properties; and almost 600 were from interrupted businesses, according to the data. Nearly 180,000 were for other lines of business, including damaged automobiles.

Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties filed the most claims, according to the OIR. 

In Lee County, about 74% of claims were closed with payment, the data shows; in Charlotte County, 80% of closed claims resulted in a payment; and in Sarasota County, approximately 69% of claims that were closed resulted in a payment.

More than two-thirds of closed claims resulted in a payment, based on the data.

Of all the claims in Florida filed following the hurricane, 529,869 claims were closed with payment (about 68%), while 198,028 were closed without payment (25%). Nearly 50,000 claims remain open. The most claims overall came from residential properties.

The total estimated insured losses are $21,386,266,489, the OIR reports. 

While the Florida office reports on losses that were insured, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated that $109.5 billion in damage occurred in Florida during Hurricane Ian, making it the costliest storm in the state's history and the third costliest hurricane in the United States on record, after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey.