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Timber industry losses from Hurricane Helene expose insurance gaps, witnesses say
Summary
Timber owners and independent agents told a House study panel that Hurricane Helene caused more than $1.28 billion in timber damage and that viable private timber insurance products are effectively unavailable, leaving landowners to rely on state aid and market salvage.
Will Wilson, an insurance principal with Oakbridge Insurance and chair of a commercial-lines committee for the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia, told the House study group that Hurricane Helene produced massive timber damage and that the open insurance market currently offers little commercial timber coverage.
“...there was over $1,280,000,000 worth of impact that hurricane Helene caused in the timber business,” Wilson said, summarizing a damage assessment conducted with the University of Georgia and the Georgia Forestry Commission. He cited UGA/GFC figures of roughly 8.9 million acres affected and tens of millions of tons of damaged pine and hardwood valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Wilson told lawmakers that most affected timberland is privately owned — he cited an estimate that about 88 percent of damaged acreage is private — and that landowners faced immediate pressure to salvage fallen timber even though a flood of supply drove down prices for standing and salvaged wood. “With respect to pine trees, there was over 26,000,000 tons valued at over $730,000,000 that were damaged,” he said.
Wilson and other witnesses said private-market insurance either does not exist for standard timber exposures, or has been exceedingly limited and expensive when available. “There have been no viable products in the past 2 to 3 years that have been available for purchase,” he said, describing coverage options he said would have been too costly or too restricted to be practical for most owners.
Committee members discussed a prior state aid package; Representative Williams and others referenced state assistance and potential appropriations to support recovery and mitigation. One lawmaker noted an $800 million figure mentioned in prior budget discussions; Wilson said he did not recall the exact appropriation amount but supported exploring public-private solutions.
The chair closed the hearing by saying the committee is examining “ways to either facilitate or look for, special risk pools for public private to find out how we can help in these instances.” Legislators said the timber sector’s scale in Georgia — a multibillion-dollar industry — makes it a candidate for further study and potential targeted programs to protect an essential industry.
No votes or final policy actions were taken at the hearing; committee members scheduled further meetings to gather stakeholder recommendations and examine mitigation or funding mechanisms.
