Two days of severe weather in the Denver area left insurers witha bill for $146.5 million, making the event Colorado's fourth mostcostly insurance catastrophe on record, according to the RockyMountain Insurance Information Association.

From June 8 to 9, golf-ball and baseball-sized hail battered theFront Range. The hail and high winds damaged cars and homes, whileheavy rain and hail flooded streets and basements. The foul weatherculminated with a tornado the night of June 9.

By mid-June insurers had received 48,000 claims, including27,393 auto claims and 20,483 homeowner claims. Auto damage isresponsible for a majority of the claims, because the hailstorm hitduring rush hour, RMIIA noted. "We had a lot of dimpled cars and wealso had losses from hail going through the windows," said CaroleWalker, the association's executive director. "There were a lot ofcar dealerships that were hit. They got hit with hail with everycar in their lots."

Several companies activated national catastrophe teams and setup emergency claim centers to help speed the process. "Insurancecompanies are dedicating the extra resources needed to handle theonslaught of claims that continue to pour in on a daily basis,"Walker said.

All of Colorado's most costly hailstorms -- including $625million in insured damage on July 11, 1990 -- have occurred in theDenver metropolitan environs, the most densely populated area inthe state. In recent years, however, the region has had a respitefrom severe storm conditions.

"After several years of escaping with lighter hail seasons, thisis a wake-up call that severe weather and hail season are in fullswing in Colorado," said Walker. "We generally get three to fivedamaging hail storms during the peak months of June and July, andthey often are accompanied by flash flooding, high winds, andtornadoes." During the past five years, Colorado has averaged 37tornadoes each year, although they do not always touch down or hitpopulated areas.