NEW YORK, Sept 1 — Insurers are bracing for a hit of about US$18 billion (RM74 billion) from Hurricane Ida in the United States and the Caribbean, catastrophe modelling company Karen Clark & Co (KCC) said today.

KCC said US$40 million worth of the insured loss will be in the Caribbean and the rest from wind and storm surge losses in the United States.

Hurricane Ida made landfall in the United States on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane, after sweeping ashore from the Gulf of Mexico, flooding wide areas under heavy surf and torrential rains.

The forecast includes privately insured damage to residential, commercial, and industrial properties and automobiles and does not include boats, offshore properties or losses that come under the US National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). — Reuters