A hailstorm in northern Ohio last month caused extensive damage to vehicles and homes, resulting in thousands of insurance claims being filed.

According to the Ohio Insurance Institute (OII), a trade association representing insurance companies and agent groups for the property/casualty insurance industry, at least 29,219 claims totaling more than $105 million were expected to be processed. Most of the damages were due high winds, hail, and heavy rains. The majority of damage affected automobiles in the form of dents in car roofs and hoods, with anticipated losses expected to exceed $30.8 million for the reported 14,704 claims, OII said.

Homeowners' claims were expected to total $70.4 million from the more than 13,000 claims filed. Damage to roofs and siding were the most commonly reported homeowners' losses.

The remaining losses were business-related claims, estimated at over $3.7 million. The findings came as part of a survey conducted by OII. Twenty-three property/casualty insurance companies participated (including the top 10 Ohio auto and homeowners' writers), which represents about 83 percent of Ohio's personal auto insurance market and 81 percent of the homeowners' market based on 2005 premium volume, OII said. Insurance company estimates ranged from no losses to over 6,700 claims, and losses reported by companies varied from a low of $260,000 to $24 million. Previously, a central Ohio October 4, 2006 hailstorm generated at least $239 million in insured losses, making it Ohio's costliest hailstorm in recent history. Not far behind was the 2003 Easter Sunday hailstorm (April 20, 2003), which produced $230 million in insured losses. More information is available at www.ohioinsurance.org .

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