Ohio’s insured losses from major storms top $500M in 2011

Storm causes town damage

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Associated Press

AKRON

A handful of major storms that damaged parts of Ohio this year have caused more than a half-billion dollars in insured losses, and that number is expected to increase.

Five storms have led to an estimated 125,000 claims and losses of $537 million or more, and more than half that came when a series of tornadoes struck in May, the Akron Beacon Journal reported Sunday. The claims and damage estimates are expected to increase once the Ohio Insurance Institute, an industry group for property and casualty insurers, finishes gathering data about a sixth storm that rolled through earlier this month.

“This has just been an unprecedented year in terms of storm systems affecting Ohio,” said Mary Bonelli, a spokeswoman for the Columbus-based group. “It’s been a big year. A really heavy duty year for losses. Very unusual.”

The Ohio Insurance Institute conducts a survey of its members only if insured losses are expected to top $25 million, and that typically happens two or three times a year. But it’s on its sixth survey for 2011, and a seventh might be needed if government officials determine there’s enough damage from downpours and flooding that swamped parts northeast Ohio last week, the newspaper said.

Ohio has had bad luck this year, with fast air currents repeatedly delivering poor weather, said meteorologist Gary Garnet of the National Weather Service in Cleveland.

“It’s just the luck of the draw,” Garnet said.

That has kept insurance agents busy logging damage in the aftermath of blizzards in February, the twisters in May and thunderstorms in the past couple of months.

“We’re in the business of helping people recover so whenever there’s a significant increase in claims and damage that’s when we leap into action,” said Blake Zitko, a spokesman with State Farm Insurance. “We’ve been leaping into action a lot lately.”

So have homeowners like Akron residents Mark and Jennifer Schumacher, whose partially finished basement has flooded twice this year. After the latest storm created a sewage backup, they had to carry soiled carpet, furniture and toys to the trash.

Jennifer Schumacher sums up the weather this way: “It’s been crazy.”