Insured loss caused by record-breaking wind, storm surge and flooding from Hurricane Helene will be close to $6.4 billion, according to catastrophe modelling firm Karen Clark & Co.

On September 26, the Category 4 storm was the biggest to hit the Big Bend area of the Sunshine State, surpassing Idalia, which hit land with 125-mph winds last year.

The estimate from KCC includes the privately insured damage to residential, commercial and industrial properties and automobiles, as well as business interruption. It does not include boats, offshore properties, or National Food Insure Programme losses.

Helene, the second major hurricane of the year, made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 140mph near Perry in Taylor, Florida.

The storm was unusual in that most of the damage occurred far from the landfall point, with higher wind damage in Georgia than Florida, and more surge damage in Tampa, Florida, three hours southeast of Perry.

More than a foot of rain fell in portions of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia, with the most significant inland flood damage in North Carolina. Record three-day rainfall totals were observed at locations in western North Carolina, with several locations reporting more than 20 inches of rain.

KCC said inland flooding across a swath stretching from Florida to Tennessee was the most impactful damage-producing aspect of Hurricane Helene from a total property damage perspective. However, it contributed a smaller portion to insured losses as most properties are not insured for flood.

Impacts were concentrated along the rivers flowing from the higher elevations of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, where the rainfall totals were the most extreme.