BEAUMONT, Texas — Residential and commercial insurance claims could total $4 billion to $10 billion. More than a million customers, including some refineries, lack electricity. And retailers are gearing up for a burst of sales once residents who fled the Gulf Coast return.
Snapshots of Hurricane Gustav’s economic impact revealed Tuesday that the storm was hardly as damaging as feared — particularly for the region’s vast network of energy facilities. But it will be days, if not weeks, before business as usual returns.
While Gustav’s force paled in comparison to Hurricane Katrina, which cost insurers $41 billion, oil workers, utility crews, fishermen and other business owners fanned out across the Gulf Coast on Tuesday to assess damage and make preparations to restart operations.
Outside a Lowe’s in Houma, La., sales manager Britt Coyle said there was only minor damage to the store, which he expected to be open today to sell chainsaws, generators and other necessities to residents returning home.
Residential and land-based commercial losses, including costs associated with business interruption, were expected to total between $3 billion and $7 billion, Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions Inc. estimated. The firm estimated damage to oil platforms and wells, as well as production interruption caused by wind and waves, at between $1 billion and $3 billion.
Insurance industry analysts warned that computerized data on insurance losses may understate actual costs because the figure don’t include damage to uninsured property or destruction caused by actions excluded from some policies.
