Hurricane Delta made landfall near Creole, Louisiana, on Friday, October 9, as a mid-Category 2 storm with a maximum sustained surface wind speed of 100 miles per hour, making Delta the second hurricane in six weeks to make landfall along the southwestern coast of Louisiana. As Hurricane Delta approached the western Louisiana coast, the storm encountered an environment of high wind shear and weakened just before landfall in Cameron Parish, about 15 miles east of where Hurricane Laura devastated communities in late August.
“Recovery from Hurricane Delta will likely be exacerbated due to ongoing rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Laura,” said Tom Larsen, principal, insurance solutions at CoreLogic. “Damage from Hurricane Laura extended inland and concentrated on roofs and exterior building cladding, and Delta’s impact could have a double-jeopardy impact. For homeowners, it is critical to work hand-in-hand with insurers to understand their coverage and financial responsibility.”
Insurance Considerations
Hurricane insurance: In 2009, Louisiana passed legislation mandating a single annual hurricane deductible for homeowners. It is expected that most insured homes with damage from the two hurricanes in 2020 – Laura and Delta – will be subject to only a single hurricane deductible, unless a homeowner has changed insurance carriers between storms. Louisiana is one of many states in the U.S. with insurance policies that include hurricane deductibles larger than the standard deductible on the policy. In most states, deductibles are occurrence-based, and a policy holder will be obligated to potentially pay a second deductible for a second event in the same calendar year. Hurricane deductibles in Louisiana are activated when the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports a tropical storm has reached hurricane strength at 74 miles per hour.
Flood insurance: While homeowners insurance covers wind damages, it typically excludes flood damages. The predominant insurer of flood coverage of homes in Louisiana is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) which is federally regulated. The NFIP policy is a loss-occurrence based policy and these two storms are expected to be treated as separate flood events.
Damage Estimates
The CoreLogic post-landfall estimates are based on the October 11, 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight NHC advisory of the storm. The analysis examines onshore losses for residential homes and commercial properties and incorporates contents and business interruption, but does not include broader economic loss from the storm. A separate analysis estimates the impact to offshore oil and gas facilities.
Visit the CoreLogic natural hazard risk information center, Hazard HQ, at www.hazardhq.com to get access to the most up-to-date Hurricane Delta storm data and see reports from previous storms.