Southeast Texas Ranks as the Windiest, Stormiest Area in the Lone Star State

IRVING, Texas, June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Stormy, windy weather slammed more Allstate insured homes in Hardin County than any other part of Texas over the past five years. Allstate tallied the top 20 stormiest counties in the state by looking at the areas with the highest frequencies of wind, hail and lightning related homeowner property damage claims from 2006 through 2010.

Rankings

While the two stormiest counties on the list are in Southeast Texas, which reflects the impact of Hurricanes Rita and Ike, other chart toppers cover diverse parts of the state—north to south, east to west.

Few, if any areas of Texas are safe from severe weather. Texas has exposure to nine different types of natural disasters—the most among any state in the country—including hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires, like those that continue to devastate many Texas counties.

Texas has also ranked among the top five for states with the most catastrophe losses over the past five years, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Texas led the nation in 2008 with $11.6 billion in catastrophe losses, making up more than 40% of the total catastrophe losses in the United States.  Texas also led the nation in 2009 with $2.45 billion in catastrophe losses, representing about 23% of all catastrophe losses in the country.

"This analysis is a snapshot of storm damage over the course of five years in Texas," said Brent Walters, an Allstate agent in Beaumont.  "We know we're going to get severe weather in Texas, but we can't predict when and where, so homeowners need to be ready."

How can Texans be prepared for wildfires, hurricanes and storms? Allstate recommends a few quick steps:

Before the Storm:

• If you don't have an up-to-date home inventory, walk through your home with a video or still camera to create a record of what you have and where it is in your house.  You can also download an iPhone App like the Allstate Digital Locker (TM) that helps you create an inventory of your items, easily organized by room, category, or item lists, and store it right in your pocket.
• Make sure you're covered for all types of weather in Texas.  Reach out to your agent for a yearly coverage check-up.

Storm Recovery:

• Make reasonable temporary repairs to prevent further damage. Save the receipts for temporary home repairs as these expenses may be reimbursed as part of your homeowner's policy. Your adjuster will need this information.
• Inventory your home and list damaged items before your adjuster arrives.  An inventory can help facilitate the claim process after a disaster.

About Allstate

To collect the data, Allstate measured the frequency of hail, wind and lightning homeowner property claims over a five year period (2006-2010) in 58 Texas counties which all had at least 1,000 Allstate policies in 2010.

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer. Widely known through the "You're In Good Hands With Allstate®" slogan, Allstate is reinventing protection and retirement to help nearly 16 million households insure what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as via www.allstate.com and 1-800 Allstate®.

SOURCE Allstate