Some people in the region are dealing with the aftermath of last week's severe thunderstorm.

Manitoba Public Insurance Spokesperson Brian Smiley said he expects hail damage claims to rise this week.

"As a result of last Thursday's hail storm in southwestern Manitoba, we have more than 2,000 hail claims at this point," said Smiley. "We expect that number to perhaps even double by the end of the week."

Smiley noted the number is rising as customers find time to make claims. He adds places they've seen significant hail damage include the Ninette, Winkler and Morden area.

A storm such as this is one of the reasons MPI is raising the Autopac premium slightly next year.

"This particular hail storm could result in 10 to 15 million dollars worth of damage, so you can certainly see that our rates are dependent on weather patterns in many cases, this particular storm will have an impact on our rate stabilization reserve," said Smiley.

He outlined the increase is pending approval from the Public Utilities Board.

"We announced last week that the Autopac premium for the 2019/2020 insurance year will increase a modest 2.2 per cent if it's approved... 2.1 of that is going to be directed to our rate stabilization reserve, which in essence is a buffer for our customers if we are hit with a catastrophic event such hail storm."

If approved, the average vehicle owner will pay about $27 more in premiums per year, or $2.25 per month.

Other reasons for the increase include the cost associated with repairing newer-model vehicles.

"They are made out of complex materials and technologies, and to repair such vehicles is more expensive than, say, a vehicle that was manufactured 10 years ago," Smiley explained.

Fortunately, last year there was a significant reduction in vehicle hail claims. There were 2,100 claims filed in 2017, compared to 11,000 and 13,000 in 2016 and 2015.

"That has some bearing on our rate premium... a number of factors come into play, weather, claims costs, bodily injury cost, the investment market," said Smiley.

He noted all these factors together is how the general rate application is calculated.