Hurricane Beryl Estimated to Cause $3.3 Billion in Insured Losses Across the Americas

Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, is estimated to have caused significant destruction across the Caribbean, Mexico, and the United States. According to the high-resolution KCC US Hurricane Reference Model, privately insured losses are projected at $2.7 billion in the U.S., $510 million in the Caribbean, and $90 million in Mexico. Beryl’s rapid intensification from a tropical depression to a Category 3 hurricane in just 42 hours and its subsequent landfalls brought extensive damage. The estimates include losses to residential, commercial, and industrial properties, as well as automobiles and business operations, but exclude boats, offshore properties, or NFIP losses.

The hurricane’s impacts were strongly felt in the Caribbean, with 95% of homes on Carriacou and Petite Martinique damaged or destroyed. Jamaica experienced widespread power outages and substantial damage to public infrastructure. Mexico saw tens of thousands without power, though the damage was reported as minor. In Texas, Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, causing power outages for 2.5 million homes and significant damage to properties and vehicles.

Beryl’s path spanned from the Windward Islands to the Texas Gulf Coast, generating accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) that was uncharacteristically high for early July. The storm’s re-intensification in the Gulf of Mexico and subsequent impacts underscore the severity and unpredictability of this record-breaking hurricane.