Insurers are deciding whether or not to dispatch mobile claims units.
Following the superstorm, homeowners insurance companies are already working to respond to the claims that have already started pouring in, including the decision as to whether or not mobile claims units will be justified and required.
They want to process as much as possible before others return to their homes to see the damage.
There are still some customers who live in regions where they are not yet able to go back to their homes in order to see the extent of the damage from Hurricane Sandy. That will create another wave of claims as they start to head home, so homeowners insurance companies are hoping to be ready for them by handling as much as possible right away.
The following are some of the efforts being made by some of the largest homeowners insurance companies.
• State Farm – as of Halloween, there were already 24,700 homeowners insurance claims received by this insurer. They intend to deploy mobile units to the areas that were hardest hit by the storms in order to be able to handle the massive influx of claims that they are expecting as policyholders return to the most heavily impacted regions.
• Liberty Mutual – has already deployed several hundred claims experts in order to provide an immediate response. They have brought in additional employees who have been trained in advance to handle the storm claims over the phone while the experts are working remotely. This helps to make sure that processing will continue promptly but that they will still be able to manage the tremendous call volume.
• Nationwide – so far, the insurer has had over 9,000 claims from areas along the coast. Most originated from New York and Pennsylvania and were relate to flooding and downed trees. They have reported that their claims teams are now out in the field and that they are being supported by the National Catastrophe team. Delaware and Long Island now have Catastrophe Response Units in place to help to assist the homeowners insurance policyholders who were most highly affected by the storm.