$1 billion increase in hail claims costs nationwide; Texas ranks 2nd for most claims

State Farm released that the company’s annual claims paid to help customers recover from hail damages increased more than $1 billion from 2021 to 2022.

AUSTIN (KXAN) – State Farm released that the company’s annual claims paid to help customers recover from hail damages. Nationwide this number increased more than $1 billion from 2021 to 2022. The sharp increase was due to simply an increase in hail claims and inflation.

While the average claim in Texas is up $1,000 from last year, the overall number of claims is down. As a result, Texas no longer holds the number 1 spot in the country for most claims, they have now fallen to number 2.

Meteorologist Sean Kelly spoke with Gina Wilken with State Farm to talk about inflation's role in the claims. You can read the interview below to learn more.

Sean Kelly, KXAN News: Thank you so much for joining us, what was the big jump? And How significant was it?

Gina Wilken, State Farm: So from 2021 to 2022, our State Farm data shows that there was an increase of a billion dollars in overall hail claims. Now that's both home and auto. This is a huge jump. And some might say, well, there was a lot more claims. There was really only 45,000 more claims. But the big issue we're facing right now is inflation and supply chain and labor issues that are driving the cost up. A roof replacement from hail damage, you know, two years ago might have cost $22,000. And now we're seeing it costs 25, to, you know, $32,000. So it's a huge increase.

Kelly: Where does Texas rank across the country?

Wilken: This year, Texas is ranked number two at about $510 million in hail claims. That is down. Texas has been, from our data, the number one state in hail claims since 2019.

Kelly: What are some storm preparedness tips that you would offer to our viewers?

Wilken: So unfortunately, hail happens when hail wants to happen. So the best thing you can do is what you can control, and something you can control is ensuring that your insurance is up to date, making sure that your coverage meets your needs. So that's calling your insurance agent having a conversation.

Another thing to do to limit your claim cost is, if you have a patio cover, move things underneath that patio cover. Benches, lounge chairs, grills, those are all things that get damaged during hail storms. So we can limit that and put that under a porch cover or possibly in a garage whenever the storm comes through. That's going to limit the cost of it. And then also being prepared in an emergency. I mean hail, it sounds like a train coming through. It's really loud. It can bust through windows. So we always like to ask people if a hailstorm is coming I know a lot of Texans we like to stand by the window and watch the storm come in, close your blinds, shut your curtains, step away from those windows because what can happen is hail can come through, break shatter.