SEATTLE - Record low temperatures in Washington last week are resulting in something of a record in insurance claims.

Seattle's PEMCO Insurance says claims of nearly $4.3 million rank the cold temperatures from Dec. 7 through 13 among Washington's top six severe cold weather events of the past 25 years.

"And when I say it's the sixth most severe, that's based on gross claims dollars paid out - in other words, severe enough that people are filing a lot of claims with PEMCO," said company spokesman Jon Osterberg.

PEMCO says the expected claim totals rank last week's weather just after winter storms of Dec. 26-30, 1996 ($15.2 million); Dec. 18, 1990 ($7.5 million); Dec. 17 – Jan. 10, 2009 ($7.1 million); Feb. 1-10, 1985 ($6.7 million); and Feb. 1, 1989 ($4.7 million).

Last week’s freeze also could break into Washington’s top 10 weather events of any kind, which includes major windstorms.

Osterberg said most of last week's damage was from burst water pipes. He advised homeowners to wrap exposed faucets and pipes, open cabinet doors inside the house to allow heat to get to indoor pipes and let faucets drip in extreme cases, because running water won't freeze.

PEMCO is the largest property and casualty insurer headquartered in Washington and insures only Washington residents.