Florida’s governor has declared a state of emergency for the entire state, days before a hurricane named Ian is expected to make landfall, raising the dread level for property insurers fearing heavy weather losses during one of the toughest moments for the industry.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ declaration also triggered a bulletin from the state Office of Insurance Regulation, reminding health insurers and workers’ compensation insurers to allow early refills of prescription medicines.
Insurers licensed by OIR “shall waive time restrictions on prescription medication refills, which include suspension of electronic ‘refill too soon’ edits to pharmacies,” the office said.
The National Hurricane Center said Ian was expected to become a major hurricane before making landfall by Thursday. The storm sucked up energy Monday morning from an area in the Caribbean Sea with “super warm water,” low wind shear and favorable steering currents — factors that will make the storm stronger, the Miami Herald reported.
A range of landfall scenarios from the southwest Florida Peninsula to the western Florida Panhandle are very plausible this week, said a report from Guy Carpenter, the reinsurance firm.
“At this point really the right message for those living in Florida is that you have to watch forecasts and get ready and prepare yourself for potential impact from this tropical system,” John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based NHC told the Associated Press.
The NHC most-likely forecast splits the difference with a track through the Florida Big Bend region, an area far from major metropolitan areas but still vulnerable to residential and commercial losses. The OIR’s quarterly and supplemental report from insurers shows that for one sparsely populated county in the area, Wakulla, the largest insurer in the state had some 488 policies in force at the end of the second quarter this year. The total exposure, including wind coverage, comes to about $91 million in Wakulla County for Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
If the storm turns slightly to the east, it could affect the Tampa Bay area, which is home to about 3 million people and is particularly vulnerable to storm surge and coastal flooding, according to news reports.
In Pinellas Park, near Tampa, people were waiting in line at a Home Depot when it opened at 6 a.m., the Tampa Bay Times reported. Manager Wendy Macrini said the store had sold 600 cases of water by the early afternoon and ran out of generators.
People also were buying up plywood to put over their windows: “Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it,” Matt Beaver, of Pinellas Park, told the Times.
The governor’s declaration frees up emergency protective funding and activates members of the Florida National Guard, his office said. His order stresses that there is risk for a storm surge, flooding, dangerous winds and other weather conditions throughout the state.
Elsewhere, powerful post-tropical cyclone Fiona crashed ashore early Saturday in Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Canada region. The storm washed houses into the sea, tore rooftops off others and knocked out power to the vast majority of two Canadian provinces with more than 500,000 customers affected at the storm’s height.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics
Catastrophe
Natural Disasters
Florida
Profit Loss
Property
Hurricane
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