Global reinsurers will feel the impact of Hurricane Milton, S&P Global Ratings (S&P) has said but it does not foresee Milton overstepping the sector's annual catastrophe budgets.
In aggregate, S&P’s earnings assumptions for reinsurers should remain intact, the global credit rating agency said in a report dated 9 October.
“While the scale of damage remains highly uncertain it could be substantial, potentially matching that of Hurricane Ian (a Category 4 hurricane) in 2022, which resulted in about $60bn of insured losses.”
Aon’s view
In its “Weekly CAT” report dated 11 October, Aon said that Milton made landfall on Siesta Key around 8:30 pm local time (00:30 UTC) late on 9 October as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 205 kph. After crossing Siesta Key, Milton continued across central Florida early on 10 October. While the storm steadily weakened as it moved inland, heavy rainfall continued to fall over a large area.
Despite increased wind shear and subsequent weakening, Milton still generated extensive damage in west-central Florida due to intense winds and flooding. Aon said, “Although Milton’s track south of Tampa Bay likely avoided a much larger catastrophe, total economic and insured losses from wind, surge, and flooding may still reach into the tens of billions USD, pending further updates.”