Wind and Hail Impacted Abilene and North Texas the Most in 2011

Hail and wind impacted more Allstate insured homes in the Abilene area and North Texas than in any other part of the state last year. Allstate tallied the top 25 stormiest counties, with a minimum of at least 5,000 Allstate policies, in Texas by looking at the areas with the highest frequencies of wind and hail related homeowner property damage claims for Allstate in 2011.

Taylor County, home to Abilene, led the list, but 12 North Texas counties, including Dallas and Tarrant, placed among the top 25.

The number of hail and wind related homeowner insurance claims increased 45% overall in Texas among Allstate Insurance customers last year. The Abilene area saw the sharpest increase, with claims jumping 1866% when comparing 2010 to 2011, according to Allstate. The Dallas-Fort Worth area saw the second highest increase, with claims spiking 157%.

While the Abilene and North Texas areas were the stormiest on the list for 2011, Smith County in East Texas topped the list in 2010, demonstrating that few, if any areas of Texas are safe from severe weather.

“This analysis is a comparison of 2010 and 2011,” said Jay Hansen, an Allstate agent in Abilene. “Texas has exposure to nine different types of natural disasters, the most out of any other state in the country. It’s not a question of if we’re going to get severe weather here every year; it’s a question of what type, when and where. That’s why it’s important for homeowners to be ready.”

To collect the data, Allstate measured the frequency of hail and wind homeowner property claims from January through December 2010 and January through December 2011 in 45 Texas counties which all had at least 5,000 Allstate policies.

Source: The Allstate Corporation