Hail damage claims from storms that hit Oklahoma in early June could easily top $20 million, an insurance industry source says, matching the cost of a similar storm in April.
Meanwhile, nearly 1,260 electric company customers in Wakita and the Tulsa area reported power outages June 4 caused by the storms that moved through the areas on June 1 and 3.
“A 60-second hailstorm in a heavily populated area such as Tulsa can cost as much as $20 million,” said Jerry Johns, president of the Southwestern Insurance Information Service, a trade group that serves 85 percent of home insurers in Oklahoma and Texas. That figure could rise, he said.
Insurance claims related to an earlier hailstorm, which swept through the Tulsa area April 8, are expected to range from $15 million to $20 million, Johns said.
Claims from hailstorms often are slow to appear because roof damage is not easily detected until it rains, he said.
By June 3, State Farm had received about 2,500 claims for damage caused to homes, amounting to an estimated $10 million, said John Wiscaver, a State Farm of Oklahoma spokesman. The insurance company also received about 2,500 auto claims, amounting to about $6.25 million for the Tulsa area and surrounding communities.
The area has seen an unprecedented amount of activity in the past six months, including an ice storm in December followed by ongoing storm activity in recent months, Wiscaver said.
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