Ohio leads the country in the number of insurance claims for thefts of copper and other kinds of metals.
A report released Wednesday by the National Insurance Crime Bureau shows Ohio reported 4,438 insurance claims for metal theft from 2012 through 2014 from homes and businesses. Most involved thefts of copper.
Ohio reported far more claims than Pennsylvania, Texas, New Jersey, California and New York. Those states each reported more than 2,000 claims, but less than 3,000.
Nationally, claims peaked in 2012. But claims in Ohio are three times higher than they were in 2009. The newspaper reports that the reason for Ohio's high claims rate isn't clear.
Columbus reported the most claims tied to metal thefts among Ohio cities with more than 570.