Bermudians have learnt lessons from severe hurricanes in the recent past — and their thorough preparation is one of the reasons why damage from Hurricane Nicole appears to be relatively light.

That is the view of John Wight, chief executive officer of insurer BF&M Ltd, who is nevertheless expecting a significant number of claims to come in after yesterday’s ferocious storm.

Mr Wight compared Nicole to Hurricane Fabian, which hit the island in September 2003 and is thought to be the island’s most costly hurricane in terms of insured losses. “Early observations of the Southampton area of the island would suggest that residential and commercial properties appear to have fared relatively well, given the intensity of the hurricane conditions experienced by Bermuda today,” Mr Wight said last night.

“These were Fabian-like conditions, which in 2003 resulted in damages in the range of $200 million to $250 million.

“We will learn more in the hours and days ahead, but at this time it would appear that the damage is not as extensive as might have been expected.

“One contributing factor to this outcome may well be that Bermudian residents have learnt from past events and have done an impressive job of preparing and protecting their assets.

Another undeniable factor is the robustness of both the building structures and the building codes in Bermuda.

“Nevertheless, we do anticipate that a significant number of people will have experienced storm damage of some kind and our thoughts are with them.”

He added that BF&M would be open from 8am today, ready to assist customers with claims.