The U.S. Virgin Islands for years redirected money intended to help pay insurance claims after large disasters for other needs, raising the vulnerability of residents as Hurricane Irma ravishes the territory.

Irma’s insured damage in Florida could be the largest ever in the US, perhaps equivalent to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which recorded $50 billion on an inflation-adjusted basis, Barclays analyst Jay Gelb said in a Sept. 5 equity research analyst note.

Flooding and wildfires are making massive headlines this summer and this extreme weather risk is placing considerable pressure on the property insurance industry.

Hurricane Irma is on a crash course with Florida, according to the latest projections by the National Hurricane Center. Irma’s veering north into Florida has seemed likely for a few days, but the 8 a.m. Wednesday update by the NHC gives it more certainty, though there’s always a chance hurricanes will behave unpredictably.

Evacuation orders are being given in the Florida Keys as Monroe County emergency managers prepare for Hurricane Irma. Key West International Airport will close Wednesday night, cancelling all commercial flights until further notice.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has declared a statewide emergency in response to Hurricane Irma, a roiling storm that intensified into “an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane” while it churned toward the United States.

Irma on Tuesday intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.

Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 4 storm and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said there is an "increasing chance" that Florida and the Florida Keys will see "some impacts from" Irma later this week and weekend, though it’s still too early to determine what direct effects it may have.

A tropical wave in the eastern Atlantic Ocean strengthened into a tropical storm Wednesday morning and has been officially named Irma.
Forecasters from the National Hurricane Center said Irma poses no immediate threat to any land but is expected to strengthen as it continues its westward track across the Atlantic.

A weather system off Africa that’s being monitored by the National Hurricane Center is likely to develop as it approaches the eastern Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said Tuesday.

Gov. Rick Scott dispatched 25 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission officers, two Mobile Command Centers, eight shallow draft vessels and four patrol boats to Houston, according to a news release.

A Vero Beach lawmaker said Wednesday she will again file a bill to repeal Florida’s no-fault car insurance system, but with key differences compared with a Senate bill introduced days ago, setting the stage for the biggest potential change in motorist coverage in almost 50 years.

A 25-year-old Orlando man was arrested on DUI charges after he struck 17 parked vehicles at an apartment complex in Osceola County, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

A new front has opened in the ongoing battle between repair contractors and the insurance industry, and this time ground zero isn’t South Florida.

Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has approved two controversial requests by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation as the company tries to get a handle on rising claims and litigation costs. The OIR has approved a plan to let the non-profit insurer limit coverage on non-weather water claims to $10,000 unless the policyholder agrees to use Citizens-approved contractors in the company’s new managed repair program. Citizens can also waive deductibles on those claims to incentivize the use of the program.