Questionable Auto Insurance Hail Claims Decrease
July 19, 2013

by Jenna Reed, jreed@glass.com

Questionable auto insurance claims involving hail damage declined slightly to 2012 from 2011, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Questionable Hail Claims

Questionable hail claims on personal auto insurance policies reached 354 in 2012, down from 385 in 2011, but up from 269 in 2010. From 2010 to 2012, questionable auto policy claims accounted for 26 percent of all of these referrals.

Overall, auto insurance claims are the most likely to be referred as questionable, according to NICB.

In the vehicle category, "hail damage" is the top referral reason on questionable claims with 1,505 referrals, based on the bureau's analysis.

The top type of policy for questionable hail damage claims was personal property/homeowners, which accounted for 66 percent from 2010 to 2012.

The top 10 states for most questionable hail claims from 2010 to 2012 are:

Texas at 1,053, or 28 percent
Illinois at 501, or 13 percent
Colorado at 312, or 8 percent
Arizona at 214, or 6 percent
Oklahoma at 190, or 5 percent
Missouri at 137, or 4 percent
Georgia at 132, or 3 percent
Minnesota at 132, or 3 percent
Louisiana at 124, or 3 percent
South Carolina at 120 or 3 percent

Hail Damage Claims

Personal auto insurance hail claims climbed to 322,719 in 2012, compared to 51,345 in 2010. This type of claim accounted for 24 percent, or 485,730, of all hail claims since 2010. In 2011, 111,666 personal auto insurance hail claims were reported.
The top type of insurance policy for hail claims was personal property/home owners, which accounted for 64 percent of all claims filed from 2010 to 2012.

The top 10 states for hail claims from 2010 to 2012 are:

Texas at 320,823, or 16 percent
Missouri at 138,857, or 7 percent
Kansas at 126,490, or 6 percent
Colorado at 118,118, or 6 percent
Oklahoma at 114,168, or percent
Illinois at 107,772, or 5 percent
Tennessee at 92,253, or 5 percent
Indiana at 91,054, or 5 percent
Arizona at 88,456, or 4 percent
Kentucky at 77,839, or 4 percent

Hail Claims Grow from 2010 to 2012

NICB reports that all insurance claims from hailstorms grew 84 percent from 2010 to 2012.

In 2010, 467,602 hail damage claims were filed. This total increased to 689,267 in 2011 and to 861,597 in 2012.

More than 2 million hail damage claims were processed from 2010 to 2012, according to NICB.

"The nation has experienced sever storms (wind, tornado, hail) that are occurring with more intensity and affecting more areas of the country," NICB officials said in a statement. "While scientists debate why these storms occur, no one argues with their effects-extensive property damage and, many times, loss of life."

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