Insurance losses from Hurricane Debby to be “very manageable,” says Gallagher Re

(Reuters) – Insurers and reinsurers’ losses from Hurricane Debby are expected to be in the low single-digit billions of dollars, a figure that would be “very manageable” for the industry, according to a report from Gallagher Re.

Wind and water-related losses could cost insurers between $1 billion and $2 billion. Fewer active insurance policies were partly why the losses would be so low, the reinsurance broker’s report said.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

The findings could reassure those worried about the hit to the industry which has been liable for billions of dollars in claims due to weather-related disasters over the past few years.

Increasingly frequent storms and wildfires have also prompted some players to retreat from geographies prone to extreme weather events.

CONTEXT

Debby made landfall on Thursday for a second time this week, in South Carolina, days after slamming into Florida as a Category 1 hurricane. It has left at least seven people dead.

It was downgraded to a tropical depression on Thursday.

Gallagher warned its estimates for the insured losses were preliminary and subject to change.