(Bloomberg) -- Back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton are expected to cost insurers $35 billion to $55 billion, according to Moody’s RMS risk-modeling unit.
The estimates roughly line up with those of Arthur J Gallagher & Co. Chief Executive Officer J. Patrick Gallagher, who said in a Bloomberg Television interview Monday that he expected insured losses of $35 billion to $45 billion.
The two storms will likely affect insurer’s earnings without having a significant impact on the balance sheets of reinsurance firms, shielding consumers from further large rate increases, Gallagher said.
“We’re not seeing the need in all likelihood to have substantial rate increases across the board based on these losses,” he said. “I liken it to a boxer: These are body blows, but the person is still in the ring.”
Losses from Helene, which hit the US late last month and wreaked havoc far inland, were estimated at $8 billion to $14 billion by Moody’s RMS, in part because much of the flood-related damage wasn’t covered by insurance.
Last week, Fitch Ratings said insured losses stemming from Milton could be as high as $50 billion. While the storm caused widespread devastation in Florida last week, officials were cautiously optimistic that the damage wasn’t as bad as initially feared.
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