Hurricane Dean “Milder” in Terms of Property Damage
Tuesday afternoon, as Hurricane Dean, which had already hit Jamaica, and was making its way through Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, was downgraded to a Category 1. As a result, the hurricane may not prove as catastrophic in terms of insured property damage as had been feared.
According to Risk Management Solutions, a catastrophe modeling firm, estimated the hurricane's cost to insurers at $750 million to $1.5 billion, citing the hurricane's track away from popular Yucatan vacation destinations on the northeastern coast.
"That gentle breeze you feel this morning is the collective sigh of relief from the U.S. insurance industry as it watches the current storm track of Hurricane Dean," Donald Light, senior analyst with consulting firm Celent, earlier wrote in an e-mail.
Dean is the first hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic season, and caused extensive damage in a number of Caribbean islands that it hit in recent days. Dean brought with it 150-mph winds when it hit Jamaica on Sunday.
According to Risk Management Solutions, the costliest damage likely occurred in Jamaica, while Mexico's insured losses are expected to total about $300 million.
Had it tracked 150 miles farther north, Dean would have hit the heavily touristed cities of Cancun and Cozumel, tripling the insured loss in Mexico, according to Risk Management's estimates.
Published on August 22, 2007
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