Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger offered praise for the insurance industry's payment of over $80 million in claims in the wake of a devastating tornado that struck the state earlier this month.

In announcing the state's estimation of total insured losses from the storm, she noted that roughly 80 percent of affected policyholders had received emergency funds from their insurers.

"The insurance industry has been exemplary in their response to the devastation in Greensburg," said Ms. Praeger. "There were insurance company adjusters on their way as early as 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, the day after the tornado."

Based on data from 33 insurance company groups representing approximately 85 percent of the property insurance market in Kansas, the state department of insurance said that $82 million of insured property losses have been paid to date. The department further estimated that when all claims are completed for final adjustment, the insured property losses from the tornado will likely be more than $153 million.

Gary Kerney, assistant vice president of Property Claim Services for the Insurance Services Office, said the storm that produced the Kansas tornado, which was assigned catastrophe serial number 11, also caused damage in areas of Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and South Dakota. The majority of damages, however, were in Kansas, he noted.

"The preliminary estimate from PCS for the storm is $260 million, of which PCS currently estimates nearly $200 million is in Kansas," he said, adding that Property Claims Services "will resurvey insurers with respect to this event to monitor any loss development or changes."

Ms. Praeger said that consumers seem to be happy with the handling of their claims as well, noting that only one written complaint has been filed out of more than 1,900 claims.

"Fortunately, most of the calls to the department regarding concerns from property owners were resolved quickly and informally in favor of those consumers," she said.

PCS generally identifies "two or more dozen catastrophes" each year, Mr. Kerney said.

"Many of these go unnoticed by the media, government officials and others, but insurers always respond and are responsible for supporting the recovery efforts of homeowners and businesses in these damaged areas of the country," he added. "It is rewarding to have the catastrophe response of insurers positively recognized by the Kansas department."

Tamara O'Connor, a spokeswoman for State Farm, said that the Kansas department's data shows the commitment the company has for its policyholders.

"One of the things State Farm does is make a promise to our customers" that the company will help them recover from a disaster, she said, adding that Ms. Praeger's comments "speak to the way that State Farm and the insurance industry handles its claims."

State Farm handled 330 homeowners claims and 734 auto claims from the storm with the "vast majority" of them occurring in Greensboro, which was hardest hit by the tornado.

"We were there when they opened up the city" to allow adjusters in, she said, "and we'll be there until the last claim is settled."

The company has made contact with all of its policyholders who filed homeowners claims, she said. Nearly 88 percent of those had filed an auto claim. State Farm has not reached the remaining policyholders, she added, "for reasons beyond our control."