Insurance department reports thousands of tornado claims, outlines rule changes and ongoing litigation

Rand Booth, general counsel for the Arkansas Insurance Department, told the Senate Insurance & Commerce Committee that the department has received thousands of claims tied to the March 31, 2023 tornado and is actively working through investigations and rule updates.

Booth said the department has recorded "over 9,000 claims reported in residential property damages" and reported total paid residential losses up through May 2023 of about $195,000,000, with roughly 60% of those claims closed. He also reported commercial-property claims from the tornado and said personal auto claims exceeded 3,360, including 1,115 total-loss claims; the transcript lists paid auto losses as about $2,727,000,000. Booth summarized department complaint handling: "In the insurance department, related to tornado complaints, we've got approximately…