Hurricanes cost company $550M

COLUMBUS (AP) -- The four hurricanes that slammed Florida and the Southeast this fall are expected to cause a $550 million after-tax loss for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
About 120,000 claims have been filed with the Columbus-based insurer from hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne -- including 1,570 claims of more than $50,000 each, Nationwide reported Friday. Before taxes, the loss would be $850 million.
But favorable weather elsewhere and strong underlying performance should offset the loss in overall financial results, the company said.
Overall, insured losses from the four hurricanes could exceed $22 billion -- the costs of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in today's dollars, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group.