Colorado Hailstorm on Pace to be Most Expensive in State History

More than 150,000 auto insurance claims and 50,000 homeowners claims are estimated to be filed in the wake of a monster hailstorm that pounded Colorado’s Front Range on May 8, putting it on pace to be the state’s most expensive insured catastrophe.

That’s according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, which is estimating the preliminary insurance losses for the hailstorm at roughly $1.4 billion.

The storm would surpass the $845.5 million storm in July 20, 2009 and the July 11, 1990 storm, the most expensive in adjusted costs for today’s dollars.

Golf ball and baseball-sized hail damaged homes, cars and businesses when storms swept across the Front Range during the late afternoon and early evening hours in early May. The largest hail pelted areas west of Denver, including Wheat Ridge, Golden and Lakewood.

“The enormous size of the hail hitting densely populated areas of the Denver-Metro during rush hour has contributed to the magnitude of damage caused by this storm,” said Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. “Add to that Colorado’s population boom, escalating costs to repair high-tech cars and more expensive homes, the insurance price tag on our hailstorms can be expected to continue to rise.”

The RMIIA estimate is preliminary and based on the majority of the Colorado insurance company marketshare reporting available data.