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Insured losses from severe weather hit $2 billion

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Insured losses from severe weather hit $2 billion

Insured losses due to severe weather in the United States topped $2 billion in June, according to reinsurance intermediary Aon Benfield.

“The United States endured a highly active month, with multiple natural disaster perils occurring from coast to coast,” according to a report last week by Aon Benfield's catastrophe modeling unit, Impact Forecasting.

Wildfires, thunderstorms with hail and torrential rains, and flooding caused by Tropical Storm Debby contributed to the tally, the unit of London-based Aon P.L.C. noted.

According to the report, the most costly event for insurers occurred when thunderstorms pelted areas of Texas and New Mexico with hail as large as baseballs. Citing figures from the Insurance Council of Texas, the Aon Benfield report noted that insured losses in the state are expected to exceed $1 billion.

Other big losses included hail in Colorado and Wyoming, which caused more than $700 million in insured losses.

Dual blazes in Colorado—the Waldo Canyon Fire in the Colorado Springs region and the High Park Fire outside Fort Collins—also caused major economic damage. The Waldo Canyon Fire destroyed 347 homes valued at $110.2 million and killed two people, while the High Park Fire consumed 259 homes with a value of $39.2 million and killed one person.

“The Colorado wildfires proved to be the two most damaging fires in state history, and also two of the costliest,” Steve Jakubowski, president of Impact Forecasting, said in a statement accompanying the report.

In Florida, Tropical Storm Debby contributed to the deaths of at least seven people and flooded more than 7,500 homes and businesses.