Buffett on Harvey: "Insured loss will be large"
Nati Harnik / AP
Billionaire Warren Buffett, who owns Geico and several other insurers, said on CNBC that damages from Harvey in Texas are "staggering" and that the "insured loss will be large." He noted "there will be a lot of uninsured loss, too."
He said for Geico customers, he suspects most of the losses will be total losses.
Why it matters: According to an AP investigation, "Houston's Harris County has 25,000 fewer flood-insured properties than it did in 2012," a 9% drop in coverage. That means many residents seeking refuge from Harvey will be forced to use savings, take on debt, or even sell to deal with damages.
Bonus Buffett quotes, per CNBC: "I would guess we're in a 2 percent growth economy now ... Every now and then we think it's accelerating. And every now and then that maybe there's a double dip or something. It just seems to be a couple of percent."