The wreckage caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica is expected to cost insurers $1 billion to $3 billion, according to property intelligence company Cotality.
The insured losses are a fraction of the total property damage, which Cotality estimates at $2 billion to $5 billion, though much uncertainty remains amid limited observations of the devastation. Other estimates of the total economic losses fall around $8 billion, or roughly 35% of the island’s gross domestic product.
Melissa made landfall Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane near New Hope, Jamaica, with winds of 185 miles (298 kilometers) per hour, becoming the strongest ...