Thousands more insurance claims after tornadoes

TULSA (AP):

Insurance companies have been deluged by property-damage claims since tornadoes raked central Oklahoma last month, and yesterday state officials were still trying to tally the initial claims from the most recent outbreak two weeks ago.

The nearly $250 million in insured losses from the May 19-20 tornadoes are a "drop in the bucket" to what the final tally of insurance claims will be, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak said. Previously, state officials had estimated the total damage from the May 19-20 outbreaks could approach $2 billion, as the tornadoes damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.

Some state officials predict the damage from the May outbreak, including the one on May 31, could eclipse that of a May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak that killed dozens of people in Oklahoma.

"We're in the early stages of this," Doak said. "The ($250 million) are the advance funds, for living expenses, hotels. That's just really getting people situated.