Payments on property and auto insurance claims for the May 19 and 20 tornadoes that affected 16 residential counties in Oklahoma have already reached at least $85 million, reports the state's insurance department (OID).

According to Oklahoma Emergency Management, almost four thousand structures were impacted during the tornadoes and 1,248 were destroyed, leading to 22,422 total claims. The average home price in Moore is in the $150,000 to $200,000 range.

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak (pictured) said the claims count in such a short time since the storms “shows just how disastrous severe weather can be in our state and the importance of protecting yourself with insurance.”

In a press call held on Thursday morning, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak said Oklahoma sees a uniquely large amount of uninsured losses since there are many homeowners in the state who have paid off their mortgages and choose to forgo carrying insurance, although the insurance department has concentrated efforts in the past year to urge residents to look into affordable coverage.

Oklahoma chief actuary Frank Stone said state insurers are well-capitalized to handle the damage left by the May convective storms, since they experienced a few mild years in terms of catastrophe losses.

Doak commented on the state's exposure to powerful weather in the call, saying, “As a non-coastal state experiencing all manners of natural catastrophes, our insurance rates are higher. Last year over 100,000 acres of land burned due to wildfire; we've been impacted by earthquakes and seen significant hail damage. Am I leaving anything out except for a locust outbreak?”

Doak has estimated insured losses of $2 billion from May's storms.

“Reuters put that out because the [reporter] asked to compare the recent tornadoes to Joplin, which totaled about $3 billion in insured losses. Emergency management said that [the May] tornado was on the ground for 44 minutes and damaged 17 miles of residential area, so it seemed logical that the numbers would be in that realm,” Doak replied in the press conference.

He continued, “In my mind, the comparison was the wrong question because the industry can withstand a major catastrophe loss from $5 million to $5 billion; and in U.S. history the industry has withstood about $26 billion in catastrophe losses. But there will be significant damage.”

In 1999, Moore experienced the world's third-costliest recorded twister, which killed 41 people and caused $1 billion in losses during the hour and 25 minutes it was on the ground.

Special Reports /

$85M in Insured Losses and Counting from Oklahoma Tornadoes

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