LOSSES FROM IKE IN TEXAS APPROACH $12BN

Hurricane Ike, which struck Texas' Gulf coast in September 2008, has generated $11.98bn in insured losses, making it the costliest weather catastrophe in state history, the Insurance Council of Texas has reported. Insured windstorm damages totaled $9.8bn on more than 800,000 claims, while insured flood losses reached $2.18bn on nearly 44,000 claims. Last-resort insurer Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is still receiving damage claims related to Ike, the council said. Louisiana reported $318m in flood losses, while several other states reported a combined $137m in losses. The hurricane hit the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) hard, swallowing up its $470m Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund, $1.5bn in reinsurance and imposing $350m in assessments on insurers in the state.