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Hurricane Beryl economic losses estimated in hundreds of millions: Aon

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Total economic losses from Hurricane Beryl, which swept through the eastern Caribbean earlier this week and is taking aim at Mexico and Texas, are expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but insured losses will likely be significantly lower, according to a report Friday from Aon PLC’s Impact Forecasting.

Insured losses will depend largely on which areas will be impacted next, Aon said. Beryl on Tuesday became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the North Atlantic hurricane basin.

It passed near the Cayman Islands Thursday as a Category 3 hurricane after brushing the southern coast of Jamaica on Wednesday as a Category 4. Further impacts are expected in Mexico and Texas.

Parts of the Windward Islands in the eastern Caribbean were heavily impacted by Beryl due to heavy rainfall, strong winds and storm surge.

Significant damage occurred on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique in Grenada where around 98% of buildings were damaged or destroyed, according to reports from local officials.

Other impacted island nations include Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Lucia.

It’s too early to determine exact loss figures as damage across the affected areas is still being assessed, Aon said. The intensity of the storm resulted in significant infrastructural, structural and agricultural losses in the Caribbean and left at least seven dead, Aon said.

Separately CoreLogic Inc. said Friday that total insured losses from Hurricane Beryl across Jamaica and the Cayman Islands will be between $400 million and $700 million, while estimated insurable losses in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula are also less than $1 billion.

CoreLogic's estimate includes wind-only damage to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural properties, including contents and business interruption damage.

Insurable losses account for damage to all modeled exposure types prior to the application of any insurance terms, such as deductibles or limits. It does not include losses to any regional insurance programs.