Ian death toll in Florida increases to 130 as insured losses top $8.4B

Medical examiners had confirmed 130 deaths from Hurricane Ian as of Tuesday, up from 122 at the end of last week, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Storm-related deaths have been reported in 18 counties, with Lee County accounting for 61 of the deaths. 

The Category 4 hurricane made landfall Sept. 28 in Lee and Charlotte counties before crossing the state. Sarasota County has had 10 confirmed deaths, while Charlotte and Collier counties have each had eight, and Monroe County has had seven, according to an FDLE news release. Manatee, Osceola, and Volusia counties have each had five deaths, while Hardee and Hillsborough counties have each had four.

With the amount continuing to climb, estimated insured losses from Hurricane Ian neared $8.44 billion on Wednesday, according to data posted on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. The data also showed that 607,552 insurance claims had been reported, with 422,108 involving residential property. As a comparison, the office reported last Thursday that estimated insured losses were $7,595,678,739 and that 587,693 claims had been reported. 

As of Wednesday, the largest number of claims, 218,465, had been filed in Lee County. Charlotte County had the second-largest number at 92,819. In addition to residential property, claims involve such things as commercial property and auto damage.