NU Online News Service, April 27, 2:46 p.m. EDT
State Farm, Arkansas' largest personal-lines insurer, says it has received more than 3,000 automobile claims and about 2,250 homeowners claims since April 19.
Arkansas was one of many states affected by severe weather, including tornadoes, which struck from Oklahoma to the Carolinas starting on April 19.
State Farm claims "will increase significantly" as claims continue to come in from storms on April 25 as well as from hail late April 26, says company spokesman Gary Stephenson.
Alabama, Mississippi and Texas were also among states to be affected by severe weather late April 26 into early today.
Tornadoes, high winds and hail battered Arkansas on April 25, and it looks like the state will get no reprieve. The National Weather Service today has issued another tornado watch, saying that a "particularly dangerous situation" exists for the southeast portion of the state as well as for Louisiana and Mississippi.
Shelter Insurance spokesman Joe Moseley says about 2,135 property claims and about 1,225 auto claims have been filed in Arkansas.
The regional insurer operates in 13 states, mostly in the middle part of the U.S., and it is currently racing to address policyholder needs and handle claims.
"We're used to a lot of activity this time of year, but I'd have to say this is more than normal," Moseley says. "It's so widespread. The only middle state we're not super active in right now is Louisiana."
USAA, which serves the military and their families, says it's responding by setting up an onsite claims location at Little Rock Air Force Base, which was also affected by the recent storms. Spokeswoman Rebecca Hirsch says the insurer continues to operate an onsite location near Fort Bragg in North Carolina to handle claims from tornadoes earlier this month. More than 3,300 claims have been filed here as of April 22, she adds.
According to Highline Data the top writer of personal-lines insurance in Arkansas in 2010 was State Farm, with a 24.1 percent market share.
Southern Farm Bureau was second with 9.5 percent of the market, followed by Shelter Insurance Group (8.3 percent), Allstate Insurance Group (7.9 percent) and Zurich Insurance Group (6.9 percent).
Highline Data is a part of Summit Business Media, which also owns National Underwriter.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.