Arkansas Homeowner Wins $1.16M Settlement for Tornado Damage Claim

A Cross County woman whose home was destroyed by an EF3 tornado packing winds of 150 mph that swept through Wynne on March 31 has settled a lawsuit with her insurer for more than $1 million after she accused the company of offering her more than $200,000 less than her home was insured for following the storm.

Martha White’s Wynne home, which sat directly in the path of the tornado, was destroyed, as were her belongings such as furniture, clothing and a vehicle by the tornado that swept through the town of 8,300 people, killing four and injuring 26 as it cut a 1,600-yard-wide path through the town.

White’s attorney, Austin Easley of Wynne, said that since the day of the storm, White "has essentially been homeless. She lost everything."

Inspections of the home by the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and the Wynne Fire Department in the aftermath of the storm determined the structure to be a total loss, the complaint said, as did a claims adjuster for Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Co., the company that insured White’s home.