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COLUMBUS — The Sept. 14 windstorm that struck Ohio will cost insurance companies at least $553 million in insured losses and has generated the largest number of claims filed since 1980, according to an insurance trade group.

The Ohio Insurance Institute reported Tuesday, Oct. 7, at least 131,624 claims have been filed with 24 insurance companies that offer policies in the state and were surveyed by the institute.

The surveyed companies represent 72 percent of all insurance companies doing business in the state.

The results came from a survey done weeks after the storm swept across the state, spawned by the remnants of Hurricane Ike.

The storm killed seven people, caused 2.6 million utility customers to be without power for days and forced Gov. Ted Strickland to declare a statewide emergency

The institute reported Tuesday that the monetary losses rivaled that of the 1974 Xenia tornado, but the agency later determined that to be incorrect after the Dayton Daily News questioned the figures.

The institute has kept statistics on claims filed from damaging storms since about 1980, spokeswoman Mary Bonelli said. She said the number of claims filed after the Xenia tornado were unavailable.

Bonelli said "a majority" of the state's top 10 auto and homeowners insurance agencies responded to the most recent survey. She said she did not know which ones did or didn't respond.

The agency also said that not all claims filed as a result of the windstorm were reported in the survey, meaning monetary damages and claims "will be higher that what we're currently reporting."

Counties south of Interstate 70 were hardest hit, according to the institute. Insurance claims were concentrated particularly around the Cincinnati, Dayton and Central Ohio areas, although numerous claims were reported across of the state.