The Atlantic hurricane season ended last month with maximum Category 5 storm Dorian ranked as the “most notable” in terms of damage caused, the US Insurance Information Institute says.

“It was one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record and devastated the north western Bahamas,” the institute says.

This season saw 18 named storms, six hurricanes and three Category 3 or higher major hurricanes, including Dorian.

Dorian was the first major storm of the season, which starts in June. Payouts from Dorian are estimated to have cost insurers between $US4 billion and $US8.5 billion ($5.9 billion and $12.6 billion).