Several insurers have taken in more than 27,000 claims related to mid-March severe convective storms across the middle of the country, from Texas to Ohio.
State Farm reported more than 22,600 home and automobile claims in nine states. American Family Insurance said it has responded so far to more than 4,000 in eight states.
“The majority of claims are for hail damage to auto and homes,” said American Family spokesperson Clare Hendricks. She noted particular damage along the I-70 corridor in Missouri, in Wright City, O’Fallon and St. Peters. American Family deployed a catastrophe team to O’Fallon.
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association incurred more than 600 claims related to additional severe storms the weekend of March 16-17, from Brazoria and Galveston counties and nearby areas, it said in a statement.
TWIA activated its catastrophe incident response plan after taking in the claims from its policyholders as well as Texas FAIR Plan Association policyholders in the region.
On March 14 storms produced multiple tornadoes in Indiana. The National Weather Service confirmed at least seven in Ohio, including an EF-3 on the ground for 31 miles with maximum wind speeds of 155 mph. It damaged and destroyed homes and businesses and was nearly a mile wide when it tore through the village of Lakeview on Indian Lake, the NWS said.
State Farm reported the claims count related to storms March 13-19 in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. The majority of claims were on wind and hail damage, said spokesperson Michal Brower.
Aon said two storm systems “heavily impacted” large swaths of the United States March 7-14 and may have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
Severe convective storms generated 58% of global insured losses last year, according to Gallagher Re. Six of the 10 costliest insured events of 2023 were U.S. SCS events, the broker said.
The five largest writers of homeowners multiperil coverage in Ohio in 2022, based on direct premiums written, were: State Farm Group, with a 20.71% market share; Allstate Insurance Group, 10.77%; Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., 9.9%; Nationwide Property & Casualty Group, 6.28%; and Erie Insurance Group, 6.27%, according to BestLink.
The five largest writers of homeowners multiperil coverage in Indiana in 2022, based on direct premiums written, were: State Farm Group, with a 23.83% market share; Allstate Insurance Group, 9.15%; Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., 9.04%; United Farm Family Mutual Insurance Co., 7.98%; and American Family Insurance Group, 7.29%, according to BestLink.
The five largest writers of homeowners multiperil coverage in Texas in 2022, based on direct premiums written, were: State Farm Group, with an 18.59% market share; Allstate Insurance Group, 14.52%; USAA Group, 9.92%; Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., 9.47%; and Farmers Insurance Group, 8.64%, according to BestLink.