- Hurricane Milton threatens to swamp Florida's troubled property-insurance market, potentially pushing prices higher and threatening coverage in a storm-prone region that already has the highest insurance costs in the nation.
U.S. forecasters are describing Milton as a"catastrophic" major hurricane, packing maximum winds of 160 mph . It is projected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area around 2 a.m. EDT on Thursday. The low-lying region, home to 3.1 million people, is still cleaning up from Hurricane Helene last month.
Some insurers pulled out after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, leaving the market to smaller companies that often lack the resources to sustain significant losses. If that fails to cover the bill, it can add a 10% surcharge to anybody in the state who has taken out any sort of insurance policy at all - from boats to pets to vehicles - whether or not they obtain their coverage through Citizens.
Roughly one in 13 homeowners in the United States is uninsured, according to the Consumer Federation of America, with Black, Hispanic and Native American households more likely to lack coverage.