The Insurance Council of Texas said today insured losses from Hurricane Harvey will hit $19 billion, making it by far the biggest storm in terms of insurance payouts in Texas history, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
ITC spokesman Mark Hanna cited the 200 mile long path of Harvey from Corpus Christi to Beaumont, as well as the major areas which were hit by strong winds and flooding.
He says the $19 billion far surpasses the $12 billion in damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008, which as the previous record.
The ITC adds up $3 billion in windstorm and storm related property losses, nearly $5 billion in insured losses to automobiles and other vehicles, and $11 billion in expected payments to homeowners who were covered by federal flood insurance.
"The number of uninsured homeowners who felt the full wrath of Harvey is staggering," Hanna said. "Undoubtedly, the full economic impact from Harvey on Texas will not be known for some time."
He says the totals do not include losses suffered by individuals without insurance or without flood insurance, damage that he says will be 'devastating' for those homeowners, many of whom lost everything in Harvey's torrential rains and flooding.
And Hanna points out that 2017 has already been a very bad year for Texas weather related losses, citing several damaging hail storms and the February tornadoes that hit San Antonio.
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