Federal disaster declared for Isaias as insured losses grow
Federal assistance has been approved for northwest Florida communities affected by Hurricane Isaias as potential insured losses reached $652 million. Individual assistance and hazard mitigation funding remain under review.
Federal assistance has been approved for northwest Florida communities affected by Hurricane Isaias earlier this month, as potential insured losses in Florida from the storm have climbed to $652 million.
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While no funding amount was immediately listed, officials from the region praised the White House disaster declaration, which designates all Panhandle counties south and west of Leon County as eligible for federal assistance.
“This is a critical step toward getting families the resources they need,” U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, a Republican from Panama City, posted on X.
Federal money for hazard mitigation efforts and for individual assistance remain under review.
On Oct. 18, Gov. Ron DeSantis requested the funding for Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington. The request came nine days after Isaias swept through the region as a Category 2 storm.
“This declaration is a big step forward for Walton County, and we appreciate the support of our state and federal partners,” Walton County Emergency Management Director Jeff Goldberg said in a statement. “There’s still a lot of work ahead, and we’re hopeful individual assistance will be approved to help our residents who are still dealing with the impacts of Hurricane Isaias.”
On Tuesday, about 7,000 additional insurance claims tied to Isaias were reported over the past week, raising the potential insured losses in Florida to $652 million.
The majority of the more than 62,000 claims reported by the state Office of Insurance Regulation have been filed on the western Panhandle, where Isaias made landfall near Destin.
More than 52,000 claims are tied to residential property, but they also cover auto and commercial properties, along with business interruptions and other business lines.
Of the residential property claims filed, nearly 43% have been closed. Just over 30% of the private auto claims have been closed. And nearly 12% of the commercial property claims have been closed.
Almost 29,500 claims have been filed in Santa Rosa County, just over 19,000 in Escambia County, nearly 6,000 in Okaloosa County, 2,300 in Walton County and 2,200 in Bay County.
More than one-third of the claims have already been closed in all five counties, with Okaloosa County at nearly 50%.
As of Tuesday, nearly 9,300 claims have been closed with a payment to the applicant and just over 15,000 have been closed without any payment.
Of the claims still open, just over 4,000 have already resulted in some payment, the office stated.
By comparison, losses in Florida attributed to Hurricane Michael in October 2024 were $5.6 billion, with 385,146 claims filed.
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