The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season is already one of the most devastating in history. In late August, Harvey struck at the heart of Houston, Texas, and dropped 51.88 inches of rainfall in Texas, the highest rainfall total to date for any Atlantic tropical cyclone in the United States and the fifth highest rainfall total for a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin. Irma followed closely on Harvey’s heels in early September. Irma clocked the strongest wind speed of any hurricane to form in the Atlantic in more than a decade, wreaked havoc in the Caribbean, the Florida Keys, and up the Florida peninsula. Storm surge affected many areas in the southeastern United States including Jacksonville, Savannah, and portions of South Carolina. Jose brought tropical storm winds to lower New England and high surf along much of the Atlantic. Maria hammered Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and headed westward. These storms have already caused loss of life, destruction, and dislocation on a massive scale.

The economic impact of these storms will be felt by businesses and individuals across the country for some time. Obviously, many businesses have suffered direct damage to property and lost income due to the resulting interruption of their operations, but many other businesses have also lost substantial income due to evacuation orders, disruption of utility service, disruption of mass transit on which their employees rely to get to and from work, and disruption of the operations of key suppliers or customers. Early loss estimates have now reached $170 billion, and surely will go higher. As the situation stabilizes and the focus turns to economic recovery, businesses will begin to examine their operations, assess their losses, and look to their insurance for compensation.