Total Insured Losses From Two Months of Severe Texas Storms Hit $1 Billion Mark
AUSTIN, Texas //BestWire// - Texas thunderstorms that dropped hail and formed multiple tornadoes have led to about $1 billion in insured losses in less than two months, according to the Insurance Council of Texas.
The losses resulted from automobile, homeowners and commercial claims related to storms that began in April and continued through May 12, the council's spokesman Mark Hanna told Best's News Service.
"It has been pretty much nonstop thunderstorm activity in the state, literally since mid-April," Hanna said. "While April seemed to be the month for hailstorms, it looks like May is trying to be the month for tornadoes."
Tornadoes have recently hit the towns of Denton, Cisco and Van. In Van, which is a small community, mobile homes, homes on slab foundations, school buildings, cars and trucks were damaged, Hanna said.
"There really is no relief in sight for the moment," he said. The extended forecast for much of Texas includes rain or thunderstorms every day.
The recent tornadoes in Texas followed several weeks of active storms. On April 30, the Insurance Council said four separate storms in 10 days resulted in an expected 60,000 auto insurance claims. In particular, one hailstorm produced 11 tornadoes and softball-size hail in a 100-mile stretch that was expected to result in $65 million in estimated auto losses, with losses from homes and businesses expected to be higher.
Although about three-quarters of Texas has been hit with severe storms, so far they have affected smaller towns and have avoided the Dallas-Forth Worth metro area, Hanna said.
Between Jan. 1 and May 12, Texas had 942 severe weather reports, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 27 of which included tornadoes and 237 of which included hail.
Oklahoma and other parts of the Midwest have also been hit hard. On May 6, 52 tornadoes were reported in the United States, sweeping areas in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. They resulted in a total of 1,505 claims in Oklahoma as of May 8, according to Kelly Dexter, of the Oklahoma Insurance Department.
However, because another 56 tornadoes hit Oklahoma and other states on May 9, claims numbers in that state have likely grown since then.
In April, State Farm said it had received about 1,000 claims related to severe storms that struck St. Louis on April 7 and 8, with hail damage to vehicles making up the majority of them (Best's News Service, April 9, 2015).
In late March, dozens of tornadoes touched down in Arkansas and Oklahoma, severely damaging 1,100 residential properties and numerous vehicles, according to Aon Benfield's monthly catastrophe report (Best's News Service, April 8, 2015).
The top five writers of homeowners multiperil insurance in 2014 in Texas by direct premiums written, according to BestLink, were State Farm Group, with 25.32% market share; Allstate Insurance Group, with 11.92%; Farmers Insurance Group, 11.25%, USAA Group, with 8.89%; and Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., with 8.26%.
The top five writers of all private passengers auto in 2014 in Texas by direct premiums written, according to BestLink, were State Farm Group, with 18.66% market share; Allstate Insurance Group, with 11.5%; Farmers Insurance Group with 10.09%; Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group, with 9.16% and Progressive Insurance Group, with 8.75%
(By Marie Suszynski, Best's News Service correspondent)