Based on insurance figures, it seems that the deluge that occurred last month in Central Texas may have caused even less damage than the Memorial Day flood, insurance officials said in early November.
Insurance companies continue to receive claims from the flooding October 30 but there are no complete figures yet, said Insurance Council of Texas spokesman Mark Hanna. He, however, confirmed that the damage caused by flooding in May and June seem to be twice as severe as the one in October, based on the rate of claims being filed.
As of November 5, around 8000 wind claims have been made from the flooding, as well as 6500 auto claims for submerged cars.
Using a hypothetical average claim of $15,000, the floods during Memorial Day—in comparison—brought about 20,000 auto claims worth $300 million across Texas, Hanna remarked.
National Flood Insurance Program officials have so far been unable to estimate the flood damage from the October storm.
Official with the program continue to handle claims related to the Memorial Day flooding. They said that residents and businesses filed (as of November 5) 7,878 flood claims, and the program paid out $411 million. According to the National Flood Insurance Program, the average claim for Memorial Day flooding damage was $62,465.
The extent of flood damage among uninsured property remains largely unknown.
US Small Business Administration spokesman Garth McDonald said the agency approved nearly $94 million in loans to both individuals and businesses who have uninsured or under-insured losses due to the Memorial Day weekend floods.
In total, 1,964 loans were granted by the agency. The loans were primarily used to repair physical damage as well as compensate businesses for lost cash flow.