The full scope of Hurricane Ian's destruction is still being assessed, but one firm predicts that the massive storm will end up costing insurance companies billions of dollars in damages.
CoreLogic, a research company that estimates storm damage, estimated on late Thursday night that losses due to Hurricane Ian could fall between $28 billion and $47 billion, making it Florida's costliest storm since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
The hurricane first made landfall in Florida on Wednesday and made a second landfall in South Carolina on Friday. CoreLogic's researchers predict that a record number of homes and properties have been lost due to the storm's "intense and destructive characteristics."
"Hurricane Ian will forever change the real estate industry and city infrastructure. Insurers will go into bankruptcy, homeowners will be forced into delinquency, and insurance will become less accessible in regions like Florida," said Tom Larsen, a CoreLogic executive, in a press release.
The firm also predicts that rising inflation and interest rates will cause a slower and more difficult rebuilding process than in years past.
If the higher end of CoreLogic's estimates turn out to be accurate, Hurricane Ian could be one of the costliest storms for insurance companies in US history, when adjusting for inflation.
See the list of the most expensive storms, according to data gathered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.