Wind and hail caused $3.9 billion in damage last year: State Farm

Hail and wind damage in North America last year accounted for more than $3.9 billion in property damage, according to statistics from insurance giant State Farm.

In Canada, there were more than 3,000 claims reported in the provinces where State Farm does business, the company said.

Roughly 1,600 of those claims were in Ontario, while Alberta had about 1,400, the company said. New Brunswick had only 15 for the year.

Alberta was hit particularly hard by two storms last summer, with insured losses estimated at that time to be around $200 million. Environment Canada also chose hailstorms in Calgary as one of the top weather stories for the year.

South of the border, Texas had 47,000 wind and hail-related claims for the year, State Farm said. Illinois saw nearly as much damage, with 41,000 claims.

Other states with a high number of wind and hail losses include:

• New York – 34,000
• Ohio – 31,000
• Missouri – 25,000
• Tennessee – 24,000
• Indiana – 23,000
• New Jersey – 23,000

State Farm is reminding consumers to pull cars, boats, RVs, lawn and patio furniture into a covered area is hail is expected, and the company’s website has tips for going through the claims process and choosing the right roofing professionals.

The insurer also noted a project in February, where the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety in the United States conducted an indoor hailstorm, to look at how building materials would be affected or damaged, and to educate consumers about such storms.