The hurricane season that ended Nov. 30 was the calmest in 12 years, according to a national insurance research organization.

Courtesy: Mike Moore/FEMA

Only nine named storms, with three becoming hurricanes, developed in the Atlantic Ocean from June 1 to the end of the season, Nov. 30, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

“The 2009 season is a welcome respite from 2008, when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike disrupted hundreds of thousands of lives in Louisiana and Texas, and caused $14.65 billion in insured losses,” said Robert Hartwig, an economist and president of the institute.

Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, many insurance companies have been cutting their risks and raising rates to offset any losses from future hurricanes. Katrina caused  more than $81.2 billion in damages.

Forecasts had predicted up to five major hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean this year.

Hartwig noted that the calm year, featuring the least activity since 1997 could be an anomaly. One big hurricane like Hurricane Katrina could undue all the profits obtained in this quieter year.

“Profits in an industry like insurance must be seen over the long term,” Hartwig said in a statement. “A single hurricane, or a string of large losses, can wipe out insurer profits from previous years, or even decades. And insurers must be prepared to pay for these losses, irrespective of the current economic conditions.”

The nine named storms, according to a Colorado State University analysis of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, were, in chronological order: Tropical Storm Ana (Aug. 15-16), Hurricane Bill (Aug. 15-24), Tropical Storm Claudette (Aug. 16-17), Tropical Storm Danny (Aug. 26-29), Tropical Storm Erika (Sept. 1-3), Hurricane Fred (Sept. 8-12), Tropical Storm Grace (Oct. 5-6), Tropical Storm Henri (Oct. 6-7) and Hurricane Ida (Nov. 4-10).

The institute said Hurricanes Bill and Fred were categorized as major hurricanes because each reached sustained winds of at least 111 mph at some point during its trajectory. Storms with wind speeds of 111 mph, or higher, are considered a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Hurricane Ida, which peaked as a category 2 event, had slowed to a minimal tropical storm before making landfall near Dauphin Island, Alabama, in the early hours of Tuesday, Nov. 10.

U.S. coastal counties boast properties with a total insured value of property in U.S. coastal counties with hurricane exposure was $8.89 trillion, according to AIR Worldwide.