Texas ranks first for wind, hail, lightning claims. Here’s how to protect your property.
Tornado season in Texas runs from April to June, but this year it started a month early for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Severe storms hit Tarrant and Dallas counties Thursday evening with street flooding and golf ball-sized hail. On Friday, the National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado hit Irving during the storms.
The Insurance Information Institute recorded Texas as the top state for major hail events in 2022 with a total of 458 last year.
Texas also ranked first for most wind, hail and lightning claims between 2019 through 2022, according to Allstate. Dallas and Tarrant counties were the top first and second counties, respectively, with the most wind, hail and lightning claims in the last four years.
Allstate agent Mark Tucker said Texas is unique in the amount of perils seen throughout the year.
“We’ve got windstorms, we’ve got hail, we’ve got the hurricanes on the coast, we got the wildfires,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that go on in Texas where you go to other states and it’s just, they might just have one of those.”
How do I protect my property from storm damage?
Tucker said it’s important to make sure homeowners have a plan to protect themselves before their property by making a disaster plan and putting together an emergency kit.
When it comes to protecting your property, he suggests meeting with your insurance agent once a year to stay updated on what’s covered on your policy and adjust it if needed.
“Every company is a little bit different, every company has different things they cover, but most of them are covering windstorms, hail,” Tucker said.
Most homeowners policies cover fire, lightning, windstorms and hail. Rising water due to flooding — flooding not associated with a burst pipe — is not usually covered and require a separate flood policy, he said.
If your vehicle sustains weather damage, like hail damage, repairs are covered by insurance as long as your policy includes comprehensive coverage. Tucker said he strongly recommends meeting with an insurance agent about your policy to know what’s covered and what is not.
