State Farm has received approximately 14,000 claims from severe convective storms that impacted states from Minnesota and Iowa to Pennsylvania and New York in mid-July.
From July 13 to 17, the storms brought intense winds, large hail, and heavy rainfall, also affecting southern Ontario.
According to Aon, insured damages in the US and Canada could reach or exceed hundreds of millions of dollars due to the storms hitting major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Toronto, and Minneapolis-St Paul.
As per an AM Best report, State Farm spokesperson Benjamin Palmer reported about 10,000 fire/homeowners and 4,000 automobile claims across nine states: Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Policyholders primarily cited wind damage, much of it of low severity.
Aon noted that damage was widespread on July 15 when a “powerful derecho hit Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana with hurricane-force wind gusts” and tornadoes. On July 16, parts of Toronto experienced heavy rain causing significant flash flooding.
The derecho produced at least 35 tornadoes over two days, setting a new daily record in the Chicago County warning area with 24 confirmed by the National Weather Service.
Northern Illinois and Indiana are within a region that averages one derecho yearly, but events as strong as the July 15 storm occur once every five to 10 years, according to the Weather Service.
As the storms moved east, a high-end tornado hit Rome, New York, with peak winds of 135 mph, Aon reported.
The damaging storms occurred in two clusters, starting in Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Aon stated that hail in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area exceeded three inches.
Southern Ontario experienced torrential rains on July 16-17, with storms producing large hail and strong winds.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is allowing carriers to use employees of affiliated insurers and licensed adjusting companies to employ claims adjusters licensed outside the province to manage the high volume of claims submitted following the rainfall and flooding.
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