Ohio Tornadoes Cost Home, Business Owners $22M

The insurance industry says a storm and tornadoes that ripped through northwest Ohio in early June caused at least $22.1 million in damage for homeowners and business owners.

The totals by the Ohio Insurance Institute don’t include the costs of rebuilding a high school and police station that were leveled by the storm.

The OII said its figure is based on a survey of 27 insurance companies. Together, they hold three quarters of the market for car and homeowners insurance in Ohio and nearly a third of the state’s commercial insurance market.

OII President Daniel Kelso says the damage tally will rise as more insurers report their claims.

Six people died in the tornadoes that destroyed dozens of home.

Insurers say there have been about 2,800 damage claims made by homeowners, totaling nearly $18 million. Much of that included wind and water damage to roofs, siding and windows.

At least one tornado was thought to have had winds up to 175 mph, weather officials said.

The damage was not the costliest caused by wind in Ohio in recent years. Losses totaled more than $1.1 billion from remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.