NU Online News Service, June. 17, 11:51 a.m.EDT

State Farm has logged more than 400,000 home, business andautomobile claims due to U.S. storms in April and May, and claimspayments have doubled in less than three weeks.

The top writer of personal-lines insurance in the United Statessays it has paid close to $1.75 billion to policyholders in Apriland May and doled out more than $3.3 billion in claims paymentsthis year to date, but the amount includes leftover payments onprior-year catastrophes.

State Farms says in a statement that if it were to classify allthe tornadoes, windstorms and hail in April and May as one event,it would become the fifth-costliest homeowners’ catastrophe in 90years.

Allstate says catastrophe losses in April and May could cost thecorporation $2 billion.

The Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer says it expects $600 millionin pretax catastrophe losses for seven events in May. The insurersays April losses would be around $1.4 billion.

Catastrophe risk modeler AIR Worldwide says severe weather in May, including a violenttornado that ripped through Joplin, Mo., caused up to $7 billion in insured losses.

After April’s historic tornado activity, modelers estimatedinsured losses of between $2 billion and $6 billion.