Tuesday, May 20th, 2003 — U.S. insurers have taken another hit these past few weeks as tornado season continues to wreak havoc on the nation. The tornadoes, which swept across parts of the U.S. from May 2-11, have the potential to be the costliest in U.S. history, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).
Boston-based AIR Worldwide, which uses a computer modeling program to estimate insured losses from catastrophes, has put the damages at $2.2 billion. Actual claims filed now exceed $1 billion, with damage assessment continuing in the affected areas. The 412 tornadoes during the first 10 days of May were the most since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began record keeping in 1950. The previous record for the first 10 days of May was 177 tornadoes set in 1999. More than 300 counties affecting 19 states suffered losses and more than 40 deaths were blamed on the