Insurance payments on claims related to severe tornadoes the last two weeks of May in Oklahoma have eclipsed $470 million, and Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak this is “just the beginning.”
“This is something the state of Oklahoma is going to be dealing with for a long time,” Doak adds, in a statement.
More than 60,300 claims have been filed with insurance companies from the tornadoes May 19-20 and May 30-31, reports the Oklahoma Insurance Department. 
A majority of claims payments—more than $326 million—are attributed to the first round of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, which include the massive twister that destroyed Moore, Okla. on May 19. The state Department of Emergency Management says almost 4,000 structures were impacted during the tornadoes and 1,248 were destroyed during the initial bought of severe weather in May. Policyholders have filed more than 19,841 private passenger auto claims, totaling about $51.7 million in payments from insurers.
About 540 homes and businesses were impacted by storms and tornadoes later in the month, says the department. Nearly $60 million have been paid on homeowners' claims.
Doak, who has said he expects insured losses from the May19-20 tornadoes to reach $2 billion, adds, “Many of the victims haven't received their entire settlement checks yet, so the payment number will continue to go up for a while.”
Storm damage in the U.S. in May will cost insurers at least $4 billion, says Aon Benfield's Impact Forecasting.
The National Weather Service confirmed 61 tornadoes May 18-22. Aon says economic losses to affected areas during this span will be about $5 billion, with insured losses of $2.5 billion.
On June 11 Doak said OID has issued nearly 3,000 licenses to adjusters the last 12 business days, compared to about 2,700 issued for the moonth of April. The spike is due to out-of-state adjusters being granted emergency licenses, he says.
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