The furious hailstorm that battered the Denver metro area this month, pummeling houses and cars is the costliest ever recorded in Colorado, according to insurance officials.
The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association has estimated the insurance losses to be at about $1.4 billion. The figures exceed the $854.5 million after the July 20, 2009 storm and the $1.1 billion mark after the storm of July 11, 1990, after costs are adjusted to reflect the current dollar.
The damage due to hail storm led more than an estimated 50,000 homeowners insurance claims and 150,000 auto insurance claims.
Carole Walker of the insurance association said: "The enormous size of the hail hitting densely populated areas of the Denver-Metro during rush hour contributed to the magnitude of damage caused by this storm," Carole Walker of the insurance association.
More hail damage. #9News pic.twitter.com/qG85G5BQ4o
— Victoria Sanchez (@VictoriaSanchez) May 9, 2017
She also said that the new high end tech cars are adding to the storm cost. "We have all this cool technology now in the vehicles, that's great, but it also makes it much more expensive to repair and takes longer to repair," she said.
Destroyed windshield. Happened earlier, viewer says, at 6th Avenue & Sheridan. @DenverChannel #hail pic.twitter.com/JCOyblhsJt
— Jace Larson Denver7 (@jacelarson) May 8, 2017
These are the preliminary estimates, and the storm cost is expected to rise.
"This is still an early snapshot," she said. "Some companies have projected out what they think the claims will be, others have just given us the number of claims that they have. Unfortunately, when you have this magnitude of storm this will be months out as people continue to observe damage, file claims, both for their cars for their homes," Walker said.
Most expensive storms (adjusted costs for 2016 dollars)
−May 8, 2017 (Denver metro): $1.4 billion
−July 11, 1990 (Denver metro): $1.1 billion
−July 20, 2009 (Denver metro): $845.5 million
−June 6-15, 2009 (Denver metro): $389.2 million
−July 28, 2016 (Colorado Springs): $352.8 million
−June 6-7, 2012 (Front Range): $330.5 million
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