The majority of the claims filed with insurers are from the state’s 3 westernmost counties in the Panhandle.
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In the week following Hurricane Isaias’ landfall in Destin, initial damage estimates reported by insurers and state officials show that the storm financially walloped northwest Florida.
State insurance officials report that as of Oct. 15, 46,509 claims had been filed with insurance companies for residential, commercial, auto and other losses worth nearly $582 million in damage.
Hurricane Isaias made landfall Oct. 9 as a Category 2 hurricane and is blamed for at least six deaths in Florida.
Worries initially focused on the storm surge feared at the Destin landfall but the real damage from the fast-forming hurricane stemmed from its winds, which toppled trees, knocked down power lines and blew roofs off houses.
The majority of the claims filed with insurers came from the state’s three westernmost counties in the Panhandle.
Santa Rosa County accounts for 22,894 of those claims, followed by Escambia with 13,677 and Okaloosa County with 4,334.
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) data show that about 87% of the residential claims remained open and no payment had been made as of Oct. 15.
Residential claims include homeowners, dwelling, mobile homeowners and commercial residential policies.
Nearly 12% of residential claims filed, or 4,773, have been closed. Of those, 712 were closed with payment and 4,061 with no payment.
Homeowners
Specifically, most of the residential claims (35,014) filed are for homeowners and homeowners policies account for ($558.6 million) of the overall insured damages.
Data show that no payment has been made in 86% of the open homeowners claims that have been filed. Of the homeowners claims that were closed with no payment, the majority (3,319) were for “administrative reasons,” a broad category that includes duplicate claims, claims opened in error, incorrectly filed claims and claims closed for “lack of cooperation/communication by insured.”
The data are derived from reports insurance companies are required to file with the OIR on their estimated and paid losses.
In addition to residential claims data, the OIR report also contains data for business interruption claims, private passenger auto claims and commercial auto claims.
FEMA request
Meanwhile, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis requested roughly $237 million in federal disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for debris removal, public infrastructure and emergency protective measures for 15 Florida counties.
The Division of Emergency Management (DEM) told the Phoenix on Saturday that preliminary assessments have identified nearly 1,000 damaged residences in eight counties that could qualify for individual FEMA assistance.
The request isn’t static, and DEM is continuing to work with local, state and federal agencies to identify any additional needs, DEM Director of Communications Stephanie Hartman said.
“Damage assessments remain ongoing, and determining the full extent of storm-related damages and housing needs could take several months,” Hartman said in an email to the Phoenix.
The DeSantis administration submitted the request for a major disaster with FEMA Thursday, Oct. 15, the Governor said.
The 15 counties that could qualify for public assistance if approved by President Donald Trump are Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton and Washington.
People who experienced damage to their homes in the following eight counties could qualify for individual assistance: Bay, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington.
More
DeSantis announced on Monday that eight first responders have been awarded one-time $5,000 grants. The grants are made possible through a partnership with the Florida Disaster Fund and Volunteer Florida and the Florida Sheriffs Association.
The responders live in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties and continued to serve their community despite being personally impacted by the storm.
DeSantis also said there have been nearly 300 applications for temporary shelter trailers being made available to qualifying Isaias survivors.
DEM is partnering with Emergency RV to make the trailers available. Residents can apply at EmergencyRV.org.
The DeSantis administration also announced that the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program has approved $4.5 million in short-term, no-interest loans to small businesses. The loans are meant to bridge the gap for businesses while they await insurance settlements or other long-term financial fixes.
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Reporting by Christine Sexton. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email protected].
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