TEXAS HAIL AND FLOOD LOSSES IN FIRST HALF TOP PREVIOUS ANNUAL TOTALS

Insured losses in Texas from hail storms and flooding during the first half of the year exceed annual totals dating back to 2008, when hurricane Ike struck the state, the Insurance Council of Texas has reported. Insured residential losses from wind and hail for the first half reached $4bn, far exceeding all years going back to 2009. The previous year, insured losses, driven by Ike, totalled $5bn. Insured motor losses from wind, hail and flooding during the first half reached $1.5bn, doubling losses for all of 2015 and more than doubling totals going back to and including 2008. Hailstorms pounded Fort Worth, Arlington and Plano in March and Wylie and San Antonio in April. Other storms in April and May brought as much as 20 inches of rain to some areas, causing widespread flooding. The ICT said that the loss figures do not include residential flood losses or insured losses to commercial property. The council said that the second quarter historically accounts for the state’s highest property losses, but it noted that last year the state experienced heavy flooding in October and posted $1bn in damages from tornadoes in the Dallas area in late December.