Florida’s Heritage Insurance Reports 5,400 Claims, $57M in Cat Losses From Milton

More loss and claims estimates are trickling in from carriers after Hurricane Milton caused widespread wind and flood damage in Florida this month.

Tampa-based Heritage Insurance Holdings said in a preliminary statement that about two weeks after Milton made landfall Oct. 9, Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co. had received 5,435 claims – about half the number seen in the same time frame after the more-destruction Hurricane Ian hit Florida in 2022.

The insurer expects to incur about $57 million in catastrophe losses from Milton in the fourth quarter of 2024. For two previous storms this year, Hurricanes Debbie and Helene, the company will incur about $48 million in catastrophe losses for the third quarter, Heritage noted.

Despite the impact of the hurricanes, the company expects to see a profit for the third quarter of 2024. Estimated claims payments for the hurricanes were not available. More complete financial data for Q3 will be announced at at Nov. 6 earnings call.

“Overall, we are in a strong financial position and backed by a $1.3 billion reinsurance tower,” CEO Ernie Garateix said in a statement. “We expect gross losses from hurricane Milton to possibly reach the third layer of our reinsurance tower which starts at $450 million and goes to $914 million.”

He added that company actions over the last three years have helped to mitigate losses from significant events, including the three recent hurricanes. These actions include higher rates, exposure management and underwriting discipline.

Heritage has reduced exposure in part by trimming the number of policies in recent years. It held 142,591 Florida policies in the second quarter of this year, a 14% weight loss from the same time in 2023, according to the holding company’s 10-Q quarterly report, dated June 30. In all states in which it writes, Heritage had 277,653 policies, also a 14% drop from the prior year period.

Its total insured value in Florida was $104 billion as of Q2 this year. Heritage reported $18.9 million in net income for the second quarter this year, double the profit level for the same quarter in 2023.

The storm financials are comparable to those of HCI, parent of Homeowners Choice Insurance also based in Tampa. HCI said in mid-October that it should see a third-quarter expense of about $60 million and about a $125 million expense for Q4, due to the hurricanes. HCI’s insurance companies manage about 242,500 policies in several states, including Florida.

Overall for Hurricane Milton, Florida insurers reported more than 237,230 claims as of Wednesday, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Estimated insured losses so far are about $2.8 billion, a number that will rise as more claims are filed.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the largest insurer in Florida, with more than 1.2 million policies, reported 41,402 claims from Milton as of Oct. 21.

Top photo: Milton’s destruction in Grove City, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)