State Farm: big hail bills and secrecy fight

State Farm says it paid more than $5.6 billion for hail claims in 2025 as it fights in Oklahoma over whether an adjuster’s report is secret. (newsroom.statefarm.com) The insurer said Texas alone accounted for $1.4 billion of those hail payouts, with Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma next on its list. State Farm published the figures on April 21, 2026. (newsroom.statefarm.com) State Farm also said March 2026 storms had already triggered more than 50,000 claims in the Midwest, and the National Weather Service logged more than 650 hail events across nine states on March 10 alone. (newsroom.statefarm.com) Hail is a core cost driver for home and auto insurers because it can crack shingles, break windows and dent cars in a few minutes. The Insurance Information Institute said the United States recorded 5,432 hail events in 2025, up from 5,373 in 2024, with Texas and Illinois leading the country. (iii.org) At the same time, State Farm is facing scrutiny in Oklahoma over how it handled roof claims after hailstorms. Oklahoma Watch reported that retired federal administrative law judge James R. Linehan sued after State Farm denied his roof claim, refused to share the adjuster’s report and warned it could cancel coverage if he did not replace the roof himself. (oklahomawatch.org) That dispute is tied to the broader Hursh v. State Farm litigation, where Oklahoma Watch reported that two separate parts of the case are awaiting action from the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a February 5 filing that the case involves allegations of a coordinated scheme to limit payouts on valid hail and wind claims. (kgou.org, oklahoma.gov) State Farm has denied the allegations in the Oklahoma fight. The Oklahoman reported this week that the company says it handled claims properly and that the accusations in the lawsuits are false. (oklahoman.com) The company’s position on documents has become part of the case. Oklahoma Watch reported that State Farm told Linehan the adjuster report on his own house was a corporate secret, while the separate Hursh case centers in part on whether internal claims materials can stay sealed. (oklahomawatch.org, oklahomawatch.org) The overlap is simple: more hail means more claims, and more disputed claims mean more pressure on adjusters, lawyers and regulators. State Farm’s own payout tally shows how large the weather bill has become before the court fights are even resolved. (newsroom.statefarm.com, iii.org, oklahomawatch.org)