USAA, members donate nearly $3M for hurricane relief
Read about the carrier's major effort to assist impacted military families as well as other recent hurricane-related insurance news.
A combined effort from USAA and its members has raised nearly $3 million to assist in the recovery of those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
USAA made an original donation of $1 million after Hurricane Helene, and has since committed to donating another $500,000 to military aid societies to directly benefit military families affected by the hurricane. USAA members have nearly matched the company’s donations, giving almost $1.4 million to support efforts from the American Red Cross, Team Rubicon and World Central Kitchen.
“We’ve seen the true power of the USAA family in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” Wayne Peacock, president and CEO at USAA, said in a release. “We’re grateful to our teammates who are standing tall for members, both with boots on the ground and through phone and digital, and to all our members who are helping to support families in need.”
Weeks after Hurricane Helene caused heavy damage and flooding in areas of Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, USAA reports they have seen more than 80,000 claims.
For those who wish to aid those recovering after Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, USAA suggests the following:
- Volunteer at local food banks, or with an organization like Team Rubicon that deploys in the aftermath of these disasters.
- Verify the legitimacy of any organizations soliciting donations prior to sending any money.
- Donate blood.
- Check Charity Navigator or Guidestar to verify any nonprofit organizations and the effectiveness of their programs if you are interested in donating money to the cause.
In other hurricane-related insurance-industry news…
- The Extreme Event Solutions group at Verisk estimated that insured industry losses to onshore property for Hurricane Milton will fall between $30 billion and $50 billion. This estimate — arriving on the heels of the Moody’s RMS Event Response report that losses could be as high as $55 billion — includes losses due to wind, privately insured estimates of storm surge, and privately insured precipitation induced flood losses resulting from Milton’s landfall in Florida. The majority of the insured loss is attributable to wind.
- Karen Clark & Co. pegged Hurricane Milton losses alone at around $36 billion, including damages to commercial, residential, and industrial properties, as well as automobiles and business interruption losses. Damages to boats, offshore properties, and National Flood Insurance Program losses were not included in the KCC estimate.
- Morningstar DBRS expects insured losses from Hurricane Milton to be in the upper half of its initial estimated range of $30 billion to $60 billion. The firm also said Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Florida’s public insurer of last resort and the largest residential property insurer, will maintain its financial strength, while some smaller and mid-size local insurers may face significant earnings pressure. “Hurricane Milton will likely remain an earnings event for global reinsurers, under the assumption that the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane season remains relatively quiet,” Steve Liu, assistant vice president of Global Insurance & Pension Ratings at Morningstar DBRS said in a statement. “However, after two back-to-back hurricanes that occurred in Florida within two weeks of each other, stabilization in reinsurance prices during the mid-year renewals is likely to reverse with reinsurance prices expected to continue their upward trajectory.”
- Guidewire published a blog post highlighting the effectiveness of tech-enabled risk management in anticipating and responding to natural catastrophes. “Accurate, up-to-date data and risk assessments are no longer optional — they are critical tools for insurers and homeowners to prepare for inevitable disasters,” wrote HazardHub Vice President Christina Hupy and Guidewire Senior Director Analytics & Data Services Tammy Schwartz.