The massive hail storm that pummeled the northern Front Range a year ago generated nearly $900 million more in damage than first estimated, as claims from homeowners doubled in the months that followed.
Insurers initially estimated they would receive claims for $1.4 billion in home and auto damages, surpassing the previous record holder, a storm that hit metro Denver on July 11, 1990, and generated an inflation-adjusted $1.1 billion in claims.
But a year on, the claims made on auto and home insurance policies are running closer to $2.3 billion, or 64.3 percent above the first estimate, according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.
So many homes and autos were damaged that repairs in some cases took months to complete, and the final costs exceeded the initial estimates, said Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.
Auto body shops were so backed up that some cars weren’t repaired until this spring, while some roof repairs were still taking place this winter, Walker said. And while there may be a few stragglers out there, the $2.3 billion number should stick.
“When we have an early season storm, people won’t observe the damage right away,” she said, explaining why homeowners continued to file months after the storm.
The association, a trade group for insurers in the state, based its updated damage count on 167,000 auto insurance claims and 100,600 homeowners insurance claims. The first estimate, released around May 23, was based on 100,000 auto claims and 50,000 home damage claims.
The storm last year hit during the late afternoon, when cars were out on the road or in workplace parking lots. Auto claims, at $710 million, were expected to exceed home claims at $704 million.
But home damage claims, primarily roof repairs and replacements, doubled to $1.4 billion, while auto claims rose to $873 million, Walker said.
Golden, north Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and northwest Denver bore the brunt of stones the size of golf balls and baseballs. Colorado Mills suffered so much damage that it was closed until November. Commercial damage is not included in the association’s claims numbers.
Colorado’s growing population, more severe storms, construction labor shortages and the higher expense associated with repairing newer cars with sensors are all helping to drive up the cost of claims, Walker said.
That in turn has resulted in insurers filing for premium increases with the Colorado Division of Insurance to try and recoups some of their losses, Walker said.
Walker urged consumers to review their insurance policies to make sure they have adequate coverage before the next big storm hits. She also urged homeowners to consider using hail-resistant shingles when they replace their roofs.
The severe weather window for the Front Range stretches from May 15 to June 15, said Kyle Fredin, a meteorologist in the forecast office with the National Weather Service in Boulder.
So far in 2018, Oklahoma and Texas have been spared the kind of severe storm outbreaks they saw in prior years as the more severe weather tracks north.
Fredin offered some reassurance to those who took a hit last year and will be watching the skies on Tuesday with apprehension. Lightning, or severe hail, won’t strike twice.
“We are not expecting severe weather here for the next two days,” he said.
