Hurricane Dean leaves between US$750 million and US$3 billion worth of damages in its wake

Hurricane Dean, which is the first category five storm since 2005, ripped through Jamaica, Mexico and the Lesser Antilles, causing anywhere from US$0.75 billion to US$3 billion, based on estimates from Risk Management Solutions (RMS) and EQECAT. Dean was expected to track further north hitting Cancun and Cozumel, which, according to RMS, would have tripled the insured loss for Mexico. RMS estimates that the majority of the damage resulted in Jamaica, with only up to US$300 million of the between US$0.75 and $US1.5 billion in damages resulting from the storms destruction in Mexico. Dean has taken an extraordinarily fortunate track, slipping between St. Lucia and Martinique and striking a scarcely populated area of the Mexican coast. Given its intensity, the Caribbean and Winward Islands have faired relatively well, Dr. Claire Souch, senior director of model management at RMS, said in an RMS release. Though Jamaica has taken a large hit, the track for a category 5 storm could hardly have been better planned to minimize the damage.EQECAT, who estimates the loss to be between US$1.5 billion and $3 billion, also notes that the majority of the insured losses are in Jamaica. Beyond wind damage to commercial and residential fixed structures, such as office buildings, factories, warehouses, and homes, EQECATs insured loss estimates include business interruption, as a result of the destruction of property; and demand surge, which occurs when the demand for products and services to repair damage significantly exceeds the regional supply, an EQECAT release notes. Thus, these products and services may have to be brought to the region quickly from distant points, resulting in additional costs for transportation, packaging and manufacture.EQECAT does not include flooding, private or commercial automobiles, or marine assets in its insured loss estimate.