Denver’s 2017 Hail Storm Losses Underestimated By $900M

The massive hail storm that pummeled the northern Front Range a year ago generated nearly $900 million more in damage than first estimated, as claims from homeowners doubled in the months that followed. Insurers initially estimated they would receive claims for $1.4 billion in home and auto damages, surpassing the previous record holder, a storm that hit metro Denver on July 11, 1990, and generated an inflation-adjusted $1.1 billion in claims. But a year on, the claims made on auto and home insurance policies are running closer to $2.3 billion, or 64.3 percent above the first estimate, according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.