The Hurricane Irene Effect

Q: I live in an area that experienced some flooding from Hurricane Irene. What can I expect to happen to my insurance now? Will it go up?

In all likelihood, your insurance will probably go up. It’s been three years since Hurricane Ike hit the United States, so insurers might use Irene — and the many claims that will undoubtedly be filed all up the East Coast — as a reason to increases prices.

Greenwich, Conn. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

A:

According to

Fox Business

, “insurers have not been able to raise rates for three years amid strong competition and readily available supply.” So even before Irene made landfall, the publication was predicting that even if it didn’t do too much damage, it would still be “enough to trigger premium hikes.”

And EInsurance is predicting homeowner’s insurance rates to increase from the hurricane. Various publications, like Fox Business, are predicting that premiums will increase because insurers have lost $90 billion this year and they’ll want to recoup that money somewhere. Hurricane season isn’t even close to being over yet, so another storm could cause enough damage for insurance companies to hike prices.

But until your insurance company makes a decision and announces it, there’s just no knowing for sure.