Revised loss estimates for Texas hailstorm reach US$500 million

The Insurance Council of Texas says there has been a steady stream of hail-damaged automobiles pouring into auto body repair shops in north Texas following the April 3 hailstorm in Denton and nearby cities.

With the number of homes that received hail damage also continuing to rise, the council notes in a statement that it has revised its insured loss estimates from US$300 million to US$500 million. The largest state insurance trade association in the United States, the council consists of approximately 500 property and casualty insurers writing business in the state.

“We have seen a number of cars totalled and we seen cars whose back windows had tennis ball- and baseball-size holes. We’ve seen everything,” Darrell Jenkins, owner of Gene’s Paint and Body Shop in Denton, says in the council statement.

Jenkins adds he has cars lined up for repair through February 2015.

The council reports that thunderstorms – packing softball-size hail and wind gusts of as much as 82 mph – hit Denton twice on April 3, damaging automobiles, homes and businesses. The storms moved eastward and produced at least four confirmed tornadoes, the council adds.

“When it’s all said and done, the storm will have damaged at least 35,000 automobiles and approximately 22,000 homes,” council spokesperson Mark Hanna says in the statement.

Thunderstorms hit a large swath of the Midwest and southern states Apr. 3., some prompting flash flood warnings.