2009 AUTO HAIL REPAIR INSURANCE TOTALS
July 27, 2009
11454 W. 44th Ave. Wheat Ridge, Colorado. (July 21, 2009)
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That's according to an estimate Monday from the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.
Golf ball-sized hail and strong winds battered roofs, uprooted trees, and pounded vehicles in Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Arvada, and Englewood last Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
The RMIIA said there have been 32,900 homeowner insurance claims and 19,500 auto claims filed so far as a result of the storm.
This latest storm damage, in combination with a week of wild weather from June 6-15 that caused an estimated $161.1 million in damage to property and cars in Aurora, Parker, Centennial and Fort Collins, makes it the most expensive catastrophe season in Colorado since a 45-minute hail storm caused $625 million in damage on July 11, 1990.
Insured losses so far this summer total more than $511 million and severe weather season isn't over yet.
This season is reminiscent of the mid 1980s and early '90s, giving us a real wake-up call that now is the time to be thinking about how much insurance coverage you have to fix your car, repair or rebuild your home and replace your personal belongings," said RMIIA executive director Carole Walker.
The Columbus-based company reported a 5.8 percent increase in the total value of premiums written during the quarter, but this was offset by a $36.9 million deficit in catastrophic-loss payments to customers, it said.
"The second quarter is when we have traditionally been most vulnerable to catastrophic losses," said Chief Executive Bob Restrepo, adding these losses usually come from wind and hail damage.
The company's shares were down slightly on the news, standing at $17.90, down 13 cents or 0.7 percent in late-morning trading.
Recent Colorado storms' costs lash insurers
Insured damage from storms that pummeled the Front Range last week and in June tops half a billion dollars, making this the most expensive storm season since 1990, the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association said Monday.
Residents in communities hammered by wind and hail late the night of July 20 have so far filed about 52,400 claims, with 19,500 of them for damaged vehicles, said association executive director Carole Walker.
The remainder were homeowner claims, for an estimated $350 million in insured losses.
The storm uprooted trees, blasted out windows, peppered property with golf-ball-size hailstones and left its heaviest damage in Arvada, Lakewood, Englewood and Wheat Ridge.
It followed a week of severe weather in early June that caused an estimated $161.1 million in damage in Aurora, Parker, Centennial and Fort Collins.
Since the storm of July 20, some insurance companies have set up mobile claims units in areas where damage was severe.
"Claims are flooding in," Walker said. "People need to be a little bit patient, but the insurance companies are putting extra resources in to handle this."
About 210 cars a day have been filing through a drive-through State Farm unit in Lakewood, said State Farm spokeswoman May Martinez Hendershot. "There are 10 lines going from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.," she added.
The costliest storm in Colorado history struck on July 11, 1990, and caused $625 million in insured hail damage. Adjusted for inflation, that would amount to about $1 billion today, Walker said.
The second-costliest storm was June 13-14, 1984, with $276.7 million in hail damage, or about $536.9 million in today's dollars.
The July 20 storm dropped about an inch of rain in less than 30 minutes and spawned two tornadoes that touched down briefly south of Castle Rock and in Englewood. Neither twister caused significant damage.
"Adjusted for inflation, this would be the third most expensive storm, but it is the second most costly in payouts," Walker said. "The type of damage runs the gamut from hail dimples on cars to cars totaled, to trees falling on roofs causing structural damage and roofs being destroyed."
The damage could have been worse had the storms hit during the day, when more cars would have been on the road.
The peak months for hailstorms, which generally account for the greatest amount of storm damage in Colorado, are June and July. But the state's weather is unpredictable, and there have been catastrophic storms as late as October, Walker said.
A storm in October 1998 resulted in $84 million in insured damages.
Residents should check their policies to determine whether they have sufficient insurance coverage, Walker said.
"We are not close to being out of the woods on weather in Colorado," she said. "Look at your insurance, look at your deductible, sit down with an agent and make sure you are insured to value — what it would cost to repair and rebuild your home."
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
