Harvey may no longer be a hurricane but a tropical storm, but it is likely to be causing considerable financial damage. The tropical storm continues to batter south-eastern Texas, where it has so far claimed at least nine lives, and is expected to reach southern Louisiana. However, David Havens, an insurance analyst at Imperial Capital in New York, told Bloomberg News the final bill could reach as much as $100bn. As homeowners’ personal insurance policies tend to exclude flood cover, most of the flood-related claims will be borne by the US National Flood Insurance Programme. It said many never had to buy flood insurance because their property was not listed as being on a 100-year floodplain.

Source: The Guardian August 29, 2017 06:44 UTC