$64M in claims paid after May tornado, but many still waiting

Brett Buckner
Brett Buckner, below at left, is interviewed after the roof was torn off his Minneapolis home by May's tornado.
MPR Photo/Brandt Williams

The state Department of Commerce reports that insurers have paid $64 million in claims from the tornado which ripped through part of north Minneapolis this spring.

Department officials estimate nearly $9 million in unprocessed claims has yet to be paid out.

Brett Buckner is among those waiting for resolution. The twister tore the roof off his house and made it unfit to live in. He said he filed a six-figure claim with his insurance company, but the claims process has been slow and sometimes frustrating.

"We had damage to every level of our home," he said. "Not just the damage of the wind and everything else, but the water damage that took place because, remember, we lost the roof."

Buckner has been staying in temporary housing since the tornado and said he will likely still be out of his home for another few months.

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