Service estimates come from a survey of the four largest insurance companies that operate in North Carolina: The Allstate Corp. in Northbrook, Ill.; Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide; North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation Inc. in Raleigh, N.C.; and State Farm Insurance Companies in Bloomington, Ill.

"The storm hit North Carolina Wednesday evening-Thursday morning of last week. And people are still getting in touch with their agents, and we are still trying to get a handle on the situation," said John Peterson, executive director of North Carolina Insurance News Service.

"Everyone knew it was on the radar screen, and they were gearing up for it. But it turned out to be much more of an ice storm than expected. We had some snowfall last year, but nothing like the storm that we saw last week. Some 1.2 million people were without power across the state after the storm hit," Mr. Peterson said.

He added that catastrophe teams, including claims representatives and adjusters, are continuing to examine damaged homes and automobiles across the state to handle claim settlements.

"All insurance companies operating in North Carolina have activated their catastrophic response teams, and they are treating this as the catastrophic event that it is," he said.

Mr. Peterson noted recent past years' loss events hitting the state included Hurricane Floyd in 1999, which incurred insured property damage of approximately $835 million in North Carolina, and Hurricane Fran in 1996, which caused about $1.3 billion in insured property damage.

"Damage from this winter storm is nowhere near those, but it's still a significant damage," he said, adding that damage to homes, autos and other structures, and food spoilage make up the majority of claims, while some claims have also been received for power surges that damaged electrical equipment.