National Insurance Crime Bureau: Top 5 States for Hail Claims

DES PLAINES, Illinois, Aug. 6 -- The National Insurance Crime Bureau issued the following news release:

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- Texas Continues to Take the Top Spot for Hail Claims

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The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) today, released the most recent three-year analysis of insurance claims associated with hailstorms in the United States, and Texas and Colorado continue to remain at the top of the list. According to a review of claims data from ISO ClaimSearch(R), there were a total of 2,891,291 hail loss claims from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018.

Note to recipients: The following resources are provided for your use. Please credit NICB as the source when using any of them.

Video 1 (interview) Sound: "If you work with your insurance company, reaching out to them as soon as possible after a disaster, after an event, you're going to find yourself in a much better position when it comes to preventing fraud."

Video 2 (interview) Sound: "After a natural disaster, after a storm, whether it's a hail storm, whether it's a lightning storm, there are people out there looking to take advantage of you. Unfortunately, they often pose as contractors, and they will come very, very quickly into your neighborhood after a storm, pretending, or telling you that they're there to help you. Unfortunately, at NICB, what we see, is that's not often the case."

The top five states for hail loss claims were Texas (811,381); Colorado (395,025); Nebraska (163,336); Missouri (153,403) and Kansas (146,206).

The top five cities for hail loss claims during that period were San Antonio, Tex. (75,187); Colorado Springs, Colo. (67,920); Omaha, Neb. (52,803); Denver, Colo. (48,357) and Plano, Tex. (42,659).

Over the three years covered by this report, May had the highest monthly average for hail loss claims with 203,296. June was next with 178,881. April (164,232); March (153,716) and July (96,947) round out the top five.

Of the five policy types providing hail loss coverage, Personal Property-Homeowners was the most affected with 1,657,663 claims or 57 percent of the three-year total. It was followed by Personal Auto with 898,500 claims and Personal Property - Farm with 149,215 claims.

"Hail damage fluctuates year-to-year, but what seems to be consistent is the number of unscrupulous contractors ready to swoop in promising a quick fix, which is why NICB encourages policyholders to use caution when selecting a contractor or other workers to help repair your property or replace your windshield following a storm," said Brooke Kelley, NICB vice president of communications. "Always check first with your insurance company or agent before signing any documents presented by a contractor whom you did not request to appear. It's why we say, "If you didn't request it, reject it."

The following tips are also helpful:

* Get more than one estimate

* Don't be pushed into signing a contract right away

* Get everything in writing

* Require references and check them out

* Ask to see the contractor's driver's license and write down the number and the license plate on his or her vehicle

More consumer protection information is available in our library of brochures.

Frank Scafidi, 916/207-0154, [email protected]; Brooke Kelley, 847/544-7085, [email protected]

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About the National Insurance Crime Bureau:

Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, learning and development, government affairs and public awareness. The NICB is supported by more than 1,300 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $496 billion in insurance premiums in 2018, or more than 81 percent of the nation's property-casualty insurance. That includes more than 92 percent ($254 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.