Claims From Hurricane Milton Continue to Rise in Florida

Two weeks after Hurricane Milton made landfall near Sarasota, Florida, as a Category 3 storm, claims and loss totals continue to rise. As of Oct. 21, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said carriers reported more than 221,582 claims and an estimated insured loss total of more than $2.7 billion.

Those numbers are still well below those of the devastating Hurricane Ian, which crashed the Florida party near Fort Myers in 2022. Some 18 months after Ian made landfall, almost 777,000 claims had been reported, and insured losses topped $21.3 billion. About 68% of Ian claims had been closed with payment, OIR reported.

Many of Milton’s claims are expected to turn out to be the result of storm surge and flooding, losses that may not be covered by insurance. Carriers reported 142,106 claims from homeowners; more than 18,000 mobile home claims; 29,750 private passenger auto claims; 1,500 commercial residential claims; and almost 1,400 private flood insurance claims.

Florida’s largest property insurer, the state-created safety valve, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., is likely to field the most claims from Milton. As of Oct. 21, Citizens reported 41,402 claims from the storm. Estimated dollar amounts on losses were not available, a Citizens official said.

The Citizens claims numbers were running more than half of the total for Hurricane Ian, which produced almost 72,000 claims for the insurer.