Colorado’s Most Costly Hailstorms

In the wake of more than 100 tornadoes ripping through the Plains states this past weekend, the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA), a non-profit consumer information organization that represents property & casualty insurers in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, reported tornado sirens were heard for the first time last week — sounding the annual alarm that severe weather season has arrived in Colorado.

With the exception of the May 22, 2008, Windsor tornado and the hailstorm that hit Pueblo on July 29, 2009, Colorado’s ten most costly hailstorms were centered in the Denver Metro area (the largest concentration of property in the state).

*2011 estimated cost calculations based on the Consumer Price Index.

In recent years, Colorado has been on a record-breaking storm track that mirrors historic thunderstorm, tornado and hail damage across the country. Colorado severe storms have caused nearly $2 billion in insured losses during the past five years, with the 2009 season being the most expensive in history with $1.4 billion in estimated damage to homes and vehicles (RMIIA). U.S. thunderstorm losses in 2011 were 2.5 times above the 30-year average, at $25.8 billion. Average thunderstorm losses are more than five times higher than in the early 1980s (Munich Re).

Source: Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association