Costly Aftermath From Hurricane Isabel

Sept. 19 -- As soon as Isabel began to clear out, insurance adjusters began to tally up the damage. The insurance industry estimates Isabel will cost about $1 billion in claims.

Some homeowners were in shock. "This is my house," said Sissy Yates, as she examined a tree that had crashed into her Washington, D.C., home. "What's left of my house," she added.

The damage from Isabel is spread over at least six states, from North Carolina to Rhode Island.

"[There is] not a whole lot I can do with a tree in my front yard and on top of my car," said Virginia resident John Rae. "So I'm pretty much going to get in touch with my insurance company and see what I can do."

The most expensive hurricane ever was Andrew in 1992, with $15.5 billion in claims. After that storm, insurance companies raised deductibles for wind damage, which means more money out-of-pocket for policy holders. Wind deductibles in many policies are now a percentage of the value of the home.

"I expect consumers to be very surprised that their wind-damage deductibles are going to be much higher than the deductibles they remember in their policies," said J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America and a former federal insurance administrator and Texas insurance commissioner.

And then there's flood damage, which is not included in standard homeowner's policies. Since that kind of coverage is only available with special flood insurance riders, not everyone who suffered flood losses will be covered.

Businesses, Travel Industry Suffer

A huge expense from Isabel will be restoring power to the more than 5.5 million customers who lost electric service on the Eastern Seaboard.

Hundreds of trees were brought down by the storm, bringing down power lines with them. And no power means a big financial hit for many businesses.

"It's pretty much shut us down," said Todd Brooks, who runs the RentWay Store in Elizabeth City, N.C. "We're anticipating a loss of $7,000 to $20,000."