Hurricane Matthew Damage Could Reach $6B

The level of wind and storm surge damage to residential and commercial properties from Hurricane Matthew is estimated to be between $4 billion and $6 billion, according to data released by CoreLogic. The estimation does not include losses related to additional flooding, business interruption or contents.

CoreLogic also noted that 90 percent of the insurance claims tied to the hurricane are expected to be related to wind-related damage, with the remaining 10 percent related to storm surge. The hurricane impacted approximately 1.5 million residential and commercial properties in the southern part of the Atlantic Coast.

But despite the costs connected to the hurricane’s fury, CoreLogic pointed out that the insured loss estimate from Hurricane Matthew was much less than the destruction brought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Superstorm Sandy in 2008. CoreLogic also credited “stringent Florida building codes” in helping to reduce insured property losses in that state.