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Property Claim Services, which compiles insured property loss estimates from catastrophes for the insurance industry, estimated preliminary total insured losses at nearly $350 million from the two-day spring outbreak affecting Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Ohio was the second highest in estimated insured losses with Indiana expecting to have the highest level of paid losses at $71.4 million.
“Not all insurance companies are represented by OII’s survey or PCS findings. The range of $52.6 to $57.8 million in losses for Ohio is the industry’s best guesstimate at this time,” said OII President Dan Kelso in a release.
High winds, rain and even bands of snow moved across those state with peak wind gusts of over 60 mph were reported in several counties including Darke, Franklin, Hamilton and Montgomery, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
Downed trees and power lines caused power outages to 30,000 DP&L customers and 16,000 Duke Energy customers in Southwest Ohio.
Insurance companies are still taking claims from area homeowners and businesses following the aftermath of storm. Allstate Insurance flew in adjusters from out of state to assess damage and deal with customer claims. A board member of the Ohio Insurance Agents Association, who also is the owner of a Beavercreek insurance agency, said it depended on where people lived in the Miami Valley.
The brunt of the storm seemed to fall on utilities. Meghan Cass, a spokeswoman for Allstate Insurance.
Primarily there was wind damage, but hail damage was also a factor, she said.
“It was a large event for Allstate, certainly,” Cass said.
Bruce Coppock, DP&L operations director, said at the time that winds in Miami County were “the highest recorded winds we’ve seen in our territory.”
The power utility said the storm was one of the top 15 events the company has faced in the past dozen years. DP&L initially reported more than 70 downed transmission poles at the time — more were reported knocked down — which included 22 just on Experiment Farm Road in the Troy area.
Sally Thelen, a Duke Energy spokeswoman, said the storm was nowhere near as massive as the 2008 Ike aftermath.
“It was definitely a storm that I would describe as wide-ranging in terms of counties and residents affected,” Thelen said.
Eric Elwell, WHIO-TV chief meteorologist, said the storm featured several hours of sustained 60 mph-70 mph winds, slamming into rain-soaked trees and branches, many of which were likely ready to be knocked down after several weeks of high-wind events.
Reporter Tom Gnau contributed to this story.
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