Ian insured losses near $12.6B

With the total continuing to climb, estimated insured losses from Hurricane Ian have neared $12.6 billion, according to newly posted data on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website.

The data showed an estimated $12,576,696,298 in insured losses as of Dec. 21, up from $10,271,655,453 a month earlier. The new data showed that 669,639 claims had been reported from the hurricane, including 463,979 claims involving residential property. Other types of claims included such things as commercial property and auto damage.

As of Dec. 21, 310,233 claims had been closed with payments made, while 153,309 claims had been closed without payments. The Category 4 Ian made landfall Sept. 28 in Southwest Florida before crossing the state.

Lee County has had the most claims reported, with 238,633. It was followed by Charlotte County, with 100,052 claims, and Sarasota County, with 68,173 claims.

Also last week, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated 5,398 new unemployment claims were filed in Florida during the week of Dec. 11, down from a revised count of 6,393 during the week that ended Dec. 10. The state has averaged 5,573 claims over the past four weeks, slightly higher than the 5,532-claim weekly average from the start of February to the end of September, before Hurricane Ian hit. The state Department of Economic Opportunity said Florida's unemployment rate decreased from 2.7% in October to 2.6% in November. The November rate represented 280,000 Floridians out-of-work. ¦