NCDC: '08 Hurricanes Cost $54 Billion

The hurricane season came to an end on Sunday and not a moment too soon for insurers.

According to the National Climatic Data Center, the financial damage as a result of this year's Atlantic hurricanes is estimated at $54 billion. That figure is second in recorded history, only surpassed in 2005 when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita contributed to a financial toll of $128 billion.

According to government studies, when adjusted for inflation and other factors like population density in coastal areas, a number of hurricane seasons from early last century could be viewed as more expensive.

This year was the fourth busiest Atlantic hurricane year since 1944. According to the NCDC, 2008 is "the only year on record in which a major hurricane existed in every month from July through November in the north Atlantic."

Hurricane Ike, which ravaged parts of Texas, will go down as the season's most destructive hurricane.