Hurricane Helene caused between $8B and $14B in private insured losses: Moody's

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Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., details the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and the impact of the storm on the upcoming presidential election.

A new estimate of the damage caused by Hurricane Helene puts losses in the U.S. private insurance market at between $8 billion and $14 billion, according to Moody's RMS Event Response.

Helene brought devastating flooding and storm surge to the Southeast and at least 232 people were killed. Moody's RMS Event Response estimated that private market insured losses for Helene's wind and storm surge damage will range between $6.7 billion and $12.3 billion, while inland flooding losses will be between $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion. 

That brings the total private market insured losses to between $8 billion and $14 billion, with a best estimate of $11 billion according to Moody's RMS.

«Hurricane Helene is by far the most impactful event of the current 2024 hurricane season thus far, though this may quickly change with Major Hurricane Milton due to impact Florida in the coming days,» said Mohsen Rahnama, chief risk modeling officer at Moody's. «With Helene, multiple states were affected with different degrees of damage from wind, storm surge, and excessive rainfall-induced flooding.»

HURRICANE MILTON NEARS CATEGORY 5 INTENSITY AS FLORIDA RESIDENTS TOLD TO PREPARE FOR LIFE-THREATENING IMPACTS

Asheville, North Carolina, and the western North Carolina and east Tennessee regions were devastated by Helene's flooding. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The analysis also estimated that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and operates as a public-private partnership, could reach $2 billion or more. Those