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Rocky Mountain Insurance Information
NEWS
6565 South Dayton St. #2400, Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111
Serving Colorado, New Mexico, Utah & Wyoming
Contact: Carole Walker, Executive Director
(303) 790-0216 or 1-800-355-9524
Release Date: Immediately
Topic: Catastrophes
FRIDAY AFTERNOON HAILSTORM BATTERS COLORADO SPRINGS RACKING UP A $24.1 MILLION PRICE TAG—& HIGHER INSURANCE LOSSES TO DATE THAN COLORADO WILDFIRES.
June 19, 2002 – Based on the number of claims filed so far, the insurance industry estimates that last Friday’s hailstorm that pummeled Colorado Springs and surrounding areas will result in about $24.1 million in insured damage. This is a preliminary estimate that may change as more of the 8,000 claims the property/casualty industry expects continue to come in.
The $24.1 million includes over 5,500 auto claims and more than 2,500 homeowner claims. The key to this first significant hailstorm of 2002 is when and where it hit. The storm blew in about 4 p.m Friday, so cars stuck in rush hour traffic were hit by hailstones, measuring up to 2 inches in diameter. In addition, the Citadel Mall was in the path of the hailstorm, so cars parked in the lot were pummeled. It’s not typical for a hailstorm to generate more auto than homeowners insurance claims. In this case, 69% of the hail claims are auto-related and 31% homeowner damage.
“The hail didn’t last more than 10 to 15 minutes in any given area, but that’s all it takes for one of these storms to batter thousands of cars and homes,” says Carole Walker, Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. “So while a wildfire causes greater personal loss and has the potential to destroy a large numbers of homes and vehicles, that hasn’t been the case so far this season.” That’s why if you live in a hail prone area in Colorado, one-third to one-half of your homeowners insurance premium goes to pay for wind and hail damage.
Colorado is often referred to as “Hail Alley” and gets hit by more damaging hail than almost anywhere else in the world. June and July are typically the months in which Colorado gets pounded with its most damaging hailstorms.
All of Colorado’s seven most costly hailstorms occurred in the Denver-metro area (which makes sense, because that’s where the largest concentration of property in the state is located):
1. $625 million in insured damage occurred on July 11, 1990.
2. $276.7 million in insured damage occurred from June 13-14, 1984.
3. $225 million in insured damage occurred on October 1, 1994.
4. $128 million in insured damage occurred on August 11, 1997.
5. $122 million in insured damage occurred on May 22, 1996.
6. $100 million in insured damage occurred from May 30 – June 2, 1991.
7. $87.8 million in insured damage occurred on October 16, 1998.
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Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association is a non-profit consumer information organization. Affiliated with the Insurance Information Institute, RMIIA has been serving consumers and the media since 1952.
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