Shares of insurance companies Allstate, MetLife and the Travelers Companies Inc. fell 3 percent Thursday, CNNMoney reported, as Hurricane Irene headed for a long swath of coastline from North Carolina to New York.

The storm could result in massive bills for insurers, who have already had a bad year because of destructive storms that swept through the Midwest and Southern states in the spring.

Allstate said that it suffered record-breaking “catastrophe losses” of more than $2.3 billion in the second quarter from severe weather. The insurer said this was the result of 33 “catastrophe loss events” including five tornados, three wildfires and 25 wind or hailstorms.

Allstate’s stock is down 23 percent from the start of the year, Travelers has shed 14 percent of its value and MetLife has plunged 30 percent.