Rising Insurance Claims Push Florida Hurricane Losses Over $4.8B

Bay County’s Hurricane Michael insurance claims have risen in recent weeks, helping push total losses to more than $4.8 billion in Florida, according to the latest state Office of Insurance Regulation report. The report states that as of Jan. 4, the county still had by far the most Michael-related claims with a total of 81,736 claims, up from 79,178 last month. The increase pushed the state’s total estimated losses to about $4.88 billion, up from $4.3 billion last month. The losses stem from a total of 136,873 Michael-related claims made since Oct. 12, the report states. Leon County with 9,319 claims; Gulf County with 7,801 claims; Gadsden County with 5,676 claims; Calhoun County with 3,900 claims; Franklin County with 2,220 claims, Wakulla County with 1,313 claims and Liberty County with 1,106 claims.