Texas took a record $5 billion beating from hailstorms in 2016

​​​​SAN ANTONIO – ​​Hailstorms caused $5 billion in insured losses to residential property last year, shattering the previous record set in 2015 of $1.9 billion, according to the Insurance Council of Texas.

Three April hailstorms in San Antonio and Bexar County accounted for more than $2 billion of last year’s total figure for the state, the Council said. An April 12, 2016, storm in the area alone caused $1.4 billion in​ insured losses—the most ever for any single hailstorm in the state.

Texas’ hail-related losses last year were also the most of any other state.​ According to Verisk Insurance Solutions, Texas insurers paid out an average of more than $850 million a year between 2000 and 2013 for hail damages caused to insured property, easily ranking the state as number one in this category. 

When factoring in residential damage from wind and hail damage to vehicles, total 2016 losses top $7.5 billion. Vehicle damage exceeded $1.1 billion last year, more than twice as much as in any other year, according to the Texas Department of Insurance.

The previous high for wind and hail damage to residential property and vehicles in Texas was $5.4 billion, set in 2008.​