Coloradans Affected by Yesterday’s Storms Urged to Contact Insurers

Five tornadoes struck Colorado on Sunday, two touching down in Denver, according to the National Weather Service. Several areas also were hit by hail.

As residents begin to sort through the wreckage and pick up the pieces, the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association is advising agents to be prepared for calls from their customers.

Although it is still too early to estimate the total cost of this storm, insurance companies are busy surveying damage and meeting with customers throughout the day to begin the claims settlement process, RMIIA executive director Carole Walker said.

Colorado can average 30-40 tornadoes a year with most occurring in late spring and early summer. Colorado’s most costly insured tornado losses were from the Windsor Tornado on May 22, 2008, resulting in $193.5 million in auto and homeowner claims, according to the association. Colorado’s most costly insured catastrophe was from a July 11, 1990 hailstorm that hit along the Front Range causing $625 million in damage — nearly $1 billion in today’s dollars.

For more background on Colorado’s most costly insured catastrophes: http://www.rmiia.org/Catastrophes_and_Statistics/catastrophes.htm.

Sources: NWS, RMIIA