Insured Loss Estimate from North Texas Storm Rises to $500M

The estimate of insured losses from an April 3 hail and wind storm in Denton, Texas, and nearby cities has risen.

The Insurance Council of Texas now estimates that the amount of insured losses will be $500 million rather than the previous estimate of $300 million.

The ICT reported that a steady stream of hail-damaged automobiles is pouring into north Texas auto body repair shops.

Darrell Jenkins, owner of Gene’s Paint and Body Shop in Denton, said he has cars lined up for repair through February of 2015.

“We have seen a number of cars totaled and we’ve seen cars whose back windows had tennis ball and baseball size holes. We’ve seen everything,” Jenkins said.

Thunderstorms packing up to softball size hail rumbled through the city of Denton twice on April 3, damaging automobiles, homes and businesses in its path.

The storms moved eastward producing at least four confirmed tornadoes, wind gusts up to 82 mph and large hail.

The ICT estimates that at least 35,000 automobiles and 22,000 homes were damaged in the April 3 storm.