New Yorkers, for the most part, were spared from Hurricane Irene, which was downgraded to a tropical storm from Category 1 hurricane status this past Saturday night.

Still, tens of thousands of homes in the city, and about a million people in New York State, lost power. Flooding was serious in parts of the city, made worse by the collapse of retaining walls. Water washed over docks on the West Side of Manhattan, Orchard Beach in the Bronx, the eastbound Belt Parkway and elsewhere.

The storm will likely cost insurers $1.5 billion to $3 billion to cover claims for damaged homes, vehicles and businesses, said Jose Miranda, director of client advocacy at Eqecat, a catastrophic risk management firm in Oakland, Calif. [more]

Among last year’s major deals involving insurance companies were refinancings are (from left) 345 Park Avenue, 125 West 55th St.

From the February issue: With their recession-proof premiums still rolling in, traditionally conservative insurance companies are ramping up their investments in New York City commercial real estate. “REITs and insurance companies have the perfect storm to acquire properties,” said Jahn Brodwin, senior managing director at Manhattan consulting firm FTI Schonbraun McCann Group. “Both are looking for the same criteria. They want low-leveraged transactions with conservative underwriting and longer terms — 10-year deals as opposed to the three, five years that banks want. They are looking for stable, core properties.” [more]