Firm says tornadoes led by Oklahoma to cost up to $5 Billion

5/24/2013

Tornadoes that struck the U.S. from May 18 to May 20, including one that devastated a suburb of Oklahoma City, probably cost insurers between $2 billion and $5 billion, according to catastrophe risk modeler Eqecat.

During the three-day period, 76 tornadoes touched down in states including Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and Illinois, the modeler said late yesterday in a statement, citing National Weather Service data.

A tornado with winds more than 200 miles per hour leveled homes and killed at least 24 people in Moore, Oklahoma, a town of about 55,000, on May 20. Insurers including Allstate Corp. and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. have dispatched staff to the area to help customers file claims.

“The tornadoes over the period 18-20 May have damaged thousands of buildings, many of them completely destroyed,” Eqecat said in the statement. “The Moore, Oklahoma. tornado alone has caused damage to approximately 13,000 structures and is where the bulk of the losses are expected.”