Now it’s official. April’s thunderstorms were big.

The series of storms that wreaked havoc across much of the United States in April rank as the first billion-dollar economic loss event of 2014 that can be attributed to convective thunderstorms, according to Aon Benfield’s monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, released Wednesday. At least 39 people were killed by flash flooding and severe weather during the storms, which included nearly 70 confirmed tornadoes across more than 20 states in the Plains, Mississippi Valley, Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Insured losses due to the multi-day outbreak will likely end up in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Aon Benfield said.

“The recent outbreaks of tornadoes, large hail and damaging straight-line winds in the United States have emphasized the importance of historical data analysis for insurers and reinsurers when trying to forecast future losses,” said Adam Podlaha, head of Impact Forecasting with Aon Benfield, in the report.

Widespread damage

And the “big” April storm was just one example.

Aon Benfield also attributed economic losses of $950 million to a large hailstorm that hit the Denton, Texas metro area in April, an event that generated insured losses of about $650 million. That storm also caused widespread damage in parts of the Plains, Midwest and Mississippi Valley.

Special Reports /

Insured Loss Estimate for April U.S. Storms in Hundreds of Millions

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