A hail of a storm: Bozeman hail damage could total $60M

Damage claims could reach up to $60 million in Bozeman from a storm last week in which hail the size of golf balls shattered windows, dented cars and damaged roofs, an insurer said.

G a l l a t i n C o u n t y Emergency manager Patrick Lonergan said the county has received 183 damage reports totaling $1.06 million in damages so far from the June 30 storm.

That's only a fraction of the actual damages, he said, but he still doubted the county would qualify for state and federal assistance programs because out-of-pocket costs that insurance doesn't cover so far total $228,408.

There is a $2 million outof- pocket cost threshold for aid programs.

Meanwhile, the state's largest insurer, State Farm Insurance, est imates that Gallatin Valley residents and businesses will submit a total of $60 million in claims to insurance companies, agent Dan Rust said.

All that damage to homes and vehicles could be a boon for repair businesses in the area.

"I don't know if we really know the economic impact yet," said Stuart Leidner, executive director of Prospera Business Network, a nonprofit economic development group in Bozeman.

"But I do know that if you drive through town and just look at all the broken windows and windshields, that's got to be thousands if not hundreds of thousands in glass repair alone."

K. C. Barnhardt's roofing business was still repairing roofs damaged by a 2008 hail storm when last week's storm hit. Now he thinks his company will have enough work to last another couple of years and he plans to hire more roofers.

L i k e w i s e , L a r r y LaMunyan, co-owner of Auto Body Center, expects his company will be busy fixing haildimpled cars for five or six months.

"You look at the economic impact of not only getting those things repaired, but those companies bringing people in to do it," Leidner said. "They've got to stay somewhere — that's hotel dollars right there, too."