$2.5 Billion In Claims Estimated From May’s ’Ring Of Fire’

On May 11-16 a series of wind, hail and rain storms struck most states east of the Rocky Mountains. Karen Clark & Co. a catastrophe modeling firm, estimates that the storms will cost insurers $2.5 billion.

Most of the damage occurred in the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Karen Clark predicts that insured losses higher than $100 million will be seen in: Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The weather system (referred to as a ‘ring of fire’) led to over 600,000 power outages in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states. Wind gusts over 58 miles per hour were reported as well as hundreds of hail storms and 28 tornadoes.