Hurricane Isaias causes $582 million in insured damage; state seeks $237 million from FEMA

In the week following Hurricane Isaias' landfall in Destin, initial damage estimates from insurers and state officials show the storm dealt a significant financial blow to northwest Florida.

State insurance officials reported that as of Oct. 15, 46,509 claims had been filed with insurance companies for residential, commercial, auto and other losses totaling nearly $582 million.

Hurricane Isaias made landfall Oct. 9 as a Category 2 hurricane and is blamed for at least six deaths in Florida.

Initial concerns focused on storm surge near Destin, but much of the damage from the rapidly developing hurricane came from its winds, which toppled trees, knocked down power lines and tore roofs off homes.

Most insurance claims came from Florida's three westernmost Panhandle counties.

Santa Rosa County accounted for 22,894 claims, followed by Escambia County with 13,677 and Okaloosa County with 4,334.

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation data show that about 87 percent of residential claims remained open with no payment made as of Oct. 15.

Residential claims include homeowners, dwelling, mobile homeowners and commercial residential policies.

Nearly 12 percent of residential claims, or 4,773, had been closed. Of those, 712 were closed with payment and 4,061 without payment.

Most residential claims, 35,014, were filed under homeowners insurance policies, accounting for $558.6 million of the overall insured damage.

Data show that no payment had been made on 86 percent of open homeowners claims.

Of the homeowners claims closed without payment, most – 3,319 – were closed for administrative reasons. That broad category includes duplicate claims, claims opened in error, incorrectly filed claims and claims closed because of a lack of cooperation or communication by the policyholder.

The figures come from reports insurance companies are required to submit to the Office of Insurance Regulation detailing estimated and paid losses.

In addition to residential claims, the agency's report includes data on business interruption, private passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle claims.

State seeks FEMA assistance

Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration has requested approximately $237 million in federal disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for debris removal, public infrastructure repairs and emergency protective measures in 15 Florida counties.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management told the Florida Phoenix on Saturday that preliminary assessments had identified nearly 1,000 damaged residences in eight counties that could qualify for individual FEMA assistance.

The request could change as state officials continue working with local and federal agencies to identify additional needs.

"Damage assessments remain ongoing, and determining the full extent of storm-related damages and housing needs could take several months," Stephanie Hartman, the division's communications director, said in an email.

The DeSantis administration submitted its request for a major disaster declaration Thursday, Oct. 15.

The 15 counties that could qualify for public assistance if President Donald Trump approves the request are Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton and Washington.

Residents whose homes were damaged in eight counties could qualify for individual assistance. Those counties are Bay, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington.

Additional recovery efforts

DeSantis announced Monday that eight first responders had been awarded one-time $5,000 grants through a partnership involving the Florida Disaster Fund, Volunteer Florida and the Florida Sheriffs Association.

The first responders live in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties and continued serving their communities despite suffering personal losses from the hurricane.

DeSantis also said nearly 300 applications had been submitted for temporary shelter trailers available to qualifying hurricane survivors.

The Division of Emergency Management is partnering with Emergency RV to provide the trailers. Residents can apply at EmergencyRV.org.

The DeSantis administration also announced that the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program had approved $4.5 million in short-term, interest-free loans to small businesses.

The loans are intended to help businesses cover immediate expenses while awaiting insurance settlements or other long-term financial assistance.

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