The Calm Before a Storm of Claims: Identifying and Preserving Insurance Coverage for Hurricane Irene-Related Losses

Hurricane Irene slammed into North Carolina early Saturday morning, Aug. 27, 2011, after already causing extensive damage across the Caribbean, and then proceeded up the Atlantic seaboard, knocking out power and leaving widespread destruction of property and more than 40 fatalities in its wake. Hours and even days before Irene made landfall in the continental United States, the hurricane caused major disruptions as a result of unprecedented preparedness actions taken across the East Coast. In addition to declaring states of emergency, authorities ordered the mandatory evacuation of approximately 2.5 million people. Mass transit systems in the storm's projected path suspended operations, including the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority, the nation's largest mass transit system, which shut down its entire system, including all subways, buses, and commuter rails, for the first time in history. Major airports, ports, bridges, tunnels and highways were closed. Airlines canceled more than 10,000 flights. Non-emergency travel was banned. Businesses and entertainment venues closed. Numerous events were postponed or canceled, including professional sporting events, headliner concerts and all of the weekend's Broadway shows ' as Irene's more dramatic and dangerous production played out. Although the full extent of damage and disruption of business has yet to be assessed in concrete dollar terms, early estimates in the United States alone are about $7 billion. See Derek Hawkins, Insurers Brace For Claims Post-Irene, Law360, New York (Aug. 28, 2011). A week after Irene, with the arduous process of returning to “normal” after the hurricane only in its initial stages, Hurricane Katia loomed on the horizon.