Colorado consistently gets the second most damaging hailstorms in the country, according to new data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Nearly 247,000 claims were filed for hail damage in Colorado from 2014 through 2016. That's 10 percent of all hail loss claims filed nationwide during the three-year period, according to the data released Wednesday.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau is a not-for-profit organization that partners with insurers and law enforcement agencies to fight insurance fraud and crime. The organization used Insurance Service Office Inc.'s ClaimSearch data for its analysis.
"Overall, hail loss claims increased 16 percent from 2014 through 2016," according to the NICB. "Texas was the top state in hail loss claims from 2014 through 2016 with 675,678 hail loss claims. The top 10 states represented 71 percent of the total number of hail loss claims in the U.S. in the three years analyzed."
Across the nation, most hail claims, 55 percent, were for home damage with personal auto damage representing 32 percent of all hail claims, the data show.
The NICB warns storm victims to be on the lookout for fraudulent roofers and contractors following a disaster.
"Almost all of these scams are unsolicited — they begin with a visit from a contractor who seeks to help victims rebuild. That is why NICB recommends that 'if you didn’t request it, reject it,'" the organization said in a statement. "Before hiring any contractor, call your insurance company. Your insurance company will honor its policy so there is no need to rush into an agreement with a contractor who solicits your repair work — especially when you did not request it."
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Business & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached via email at [email protected] or@adriandgarcia on Twitter.
