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Hurricane Andrew’s 1992 anniversary highlights continued Florida risk

The storm caused about $15.5 billion in insured losses in 1992, a wind-focused profile that continues to shape how catastrophe models treat different perils in portfolios today.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Property Insurance

Hurricane Andrew made landfall near Homestead, Florida, on August 24, 1992, as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds first reported at 165 miles per hour and a later corrected peak gust estimate of 177 mph, according to Insurance Journal.

The outlet revisits why the storm remains a live question for today’s built environment, noting that Andrew crossed the coast about 20 miles south of downtown Miami, a “geographic accident” that could separate outcomes from extremely expensive to nearly unthinkable.

Andrew quickly intensified after moving over unusually warm water, reached Category 5 on August 23, weakened over the Bahamas, then strengthened again over the Gulf Stream in the final hours before landfall, striking Elliott Key and then Homestead. The storm drove a surge of nearly 17 feet ashore, and it later made a second landfall in Louisiana near Morgan City two days afterward as a Category 3 system with winds around 115 miles per hour.

Insurance Journal also highlights the event’s wind-loss profile, which it contrasts with Katrina’s surge and flooding, and reports that Andrew caused about $26.5 billion in economic damage and about $15.5 billion in insured losses, along with 65 total deaths across its path.

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