NU Online News Service, June 14, 12:07 p.m. EDT

Imagine getting your car back from a Texas auto body shop from the last hail storm just, in time to have it damaged again by ice the size of baseballs falling from the sky.

Such is the case for some unlucky drivers in the Dallas area as two storm systems pummeled several cities in the area with hail ranging in size from a golf ball to a baseball.

“We've had enough,” says Mark Hanna, spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT), “Here we go with another high-loss event.”

In April more than a dozen tornadoes brought high winds and hail, ripping through the Dallas-Fort Worth area. ICT says insured losses from the tornadoes are estimated at $400 million.

But the hail and wind storms June 13 could produce higher insured losses. Damage from the tornadoes was concentrated in specific areas. This last storm system affected a larger region of the state.

“You're talking about two systems with large hail hitting heavily-populated areas,” Hanna says. “Everything got hit. The price of roofs hasn't gotten any cheaper and neither have car repairs.”

State Farm says it has already received more than 11,000 claims as off early June 15: 7,898 auto claims and 3,442 homeowners' insurance claims. The insurer expects claims numbers to increase.

In comparison, several days after the April twisters State Farm reported about 8,610 auto claims.

Farmers Insurance says its claims count as of the afternoon of June 15 was nearly 4,500 and rising.

USAA says its members have submitted about 4,000 claims, with slightly more auto than homeowners' claims.

State Farm agent Stephanie South of Richardson, Texas says the morning after the hail storm was the busiest she has ever had.

“When I got in, every line was ringing,” she says. Most claims are for heavily-damaged vehicles with shattered windows. Other policyholders are calling to seek advice about their home roofs. South says she is telling policyholders to mitigate an future damages, especially for cars without windows, by garaging the car or placing a tarp over it.

Hail the size of baseballs traveling at a high rate of speed from the sky is enough to break windshields and compromise the roofs of homes, leaving them susceptible to leaks.

Vehicles traveling on the city's highways when the hail started falling scrambled to find shelter under overpasses—which became crowded quickly—or on the sides of tractor-trailers, at least to shield some of the falling ice.

“Other than that, you pull over and take your lumps,” Hanna says.

Insurers have classified the June 13 storm as a catastrophe, meaning insurance adjusters from throughout the state are returning to Dallas to help with claims.

“If they were headed home from the last storm, they're headed back now,” Hanna says.

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Texas Hail Storm Insured Losses Could Eclipse April Tornadoes

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