Last Year’s Monster Hailstorm Caused $2.3B Damage in Colorado

The insurance costs for the monster hailstorm that pounded Colorado’s Front Range on May 8, 2017 have skyrocketed from an initial estimate of $1.4 billion to $2.3 billion – maintaining its infamous ranking as Colorado’s most expensive insured catastrophe.

The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association estimated the updated insurance losses for the hailstorm based on approximately 167,000 auto insurance claims and 100,600 homeowners insurance claims. The increase in number of claims filed and the final amounts paid to policyholders upon completion of repairs typically causes damage amounts to rise significantly from preliminary estimates – especially in an event of this size.

“The one-year anniversary of Colorado’s most damaging hailstorm demonstrates the magnitude of the damage that can result from a single storm,” says Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. “Colorado’s population boom, escalating costs to repair high-tech cars, more expensive home repair costs and increased volatility of storms are all contributing to skyrocketing insurance claims and the costs to pay those claims.”

Colorado’s Top 10 Most Damaging Hailstorms

Date Location Cost When Occurred (Millions) 2018 Dollars (Millions)
May 8, 2017 Denver Metro $2.3 Billion NA
July 20, 2009 Denver Metro $767.60 $892.8
July 11, 1990 Denver Metro $625.00 $1.19 Billion
June 6-15, 2009 Denver Metro $353.30 $410.9
July 28, 2016 Colorado Springs $352.80 $366.8
June 6-7, 2012 CO Front Range $321.10 $349
June 13-14, 1984 Denver Metro $276.70 $664.5
July 29, 2009 Pueblo $232.80 $270.7
October 1, 1994 Denver Metro $225.00 $378.8
September 29, 2014 Denver Metro $213.30 $224.8

Source: RMIIA