Topeka ? Insured property damage in April hit $502.5 million, a Kansas record for one month.

“The wind and hailstorms of April 3 and April 8 accounted for the majority of the claims reported for the property damage losses,” said Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger.

The April 3 storms were concentrated in northeast Kansas, and the April 8 wind and hailstorms hit Wichita and other parts of south-central Kansas.

The previous one-month record was $337.5 million in June 2008.

Including the April damage, 2011 losses stand at $531.5 million for the year, which is already the fourth-highest annual total since the state started keeping records in the early 1990s, Praeger said.

Praeger said the record losses in April have been partly driven by higher material and labor costs.

“Our department will continue to monitor the property insurance companies in Kansas to make sure policyholders are treated fairly, and companies maintain financial resources to pay claims,” she said.