Baseball-Size Hail in Texas Batters Insurers for More Than $150 Million

Hail the size of baseballs that battered El Paso, Texas, on Sept. 16 is believed to have caused more than $150 million in insured losses, according to the Insurance Council of Texas.

The insurance council said the fast-moving hailstorm, the costliest in the history of the city, struck during the late afternoon and brought traffic on highways to a standstill. A hailstorm in El Paso in 2007 caused $50 million in insured losses.

About 10,000 homes and 20,000 automobiles were damaged, the insurance council said. Vehicles took an average of $4,000 in damages and homes received an average of $6,500 in damages, the council reported.

According to the Insurance Council of Texas, the costliest hailstorm in the state occurred in May, 1995 and caused $1.1 billion in insured losses. A hailstorm in April 2003 caused $885 million in insured losses. The hailstorms rank fourth and fifth, respectively, among the costliest storms in Texas since 1950.

Hailstorms cause about $1 billion in damage in the United States every year, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Hail damage is covered by a standard homeowners policy as well as comprehensive auto policies.

In 2008, the top writers of homeowners multiperil in Texas, according to A.M. Best Co. state/line product information based on direct premiums written, were State Farm Group, with a 29.2% market share; Allstate Insurance Group, with 14.1%; Farmers Insurance Group, with 13.2%; USAA Group, with 7.6%; and Travelers Group, with 5.2%.

The top five writers of private passenger automobile insurance in Texas in 2008, according to A.M. Best Co. state/line data, were: State Farm Group, with 20.0% market share; Farmers Insurance Group, with 13.6%; Allstate Insurance Group, with 12.9%; Progressive Insurance Group, with 7.5%; and Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group, with 6.6%.