Local insurers and agents have been assisting policyholders with damaged homes, vehicles and businesses.
Policyholders in Ohio are encouraged to begin filing their tornado insurance claims following the storms last week. The twisters hit on Monday night and damaged homes, cars and businesses. Insurance companies are expecting thousands of claims and agents are bracing to assist them all.
Insurers such as Allstate, State Farm, and Farmers have been fielding ceaseless client calls.
“When the devastation is this much, it’s like nothing any of us in our area has really seen,” said Nathan Baker, a State Farm agent in Huber Heights, Ohio. Baker explained that he and other insurance agents in the area have been receiving a never ending stream of calls, reported the Dayton Daily News.
As of one week ago, that insurer received about 650 tornado insurance claims for vehicles and 1,060 for homes. Assurant meteorologist and catastrophic analyst, Bryan Wood, estimates that there will be around 2,000 to 2,500 commercial andresidential building claims from the area’s storm damage.
Farmers and Allstate have set up a tornado insurance claims center at Wright State University.
Farmers Insurance and Allstate insurance have set up assistance locations at Wright State University’s Ervin J. Nutter Center. There, insurer representatives are prepared to assist residents and businesses seeking to file their insurance claims following the tornadoes.
Nearby Brookville made it possible for Mike Hild, a local insurance agent from Allstate, to use Building 3 at Golden Gate Park to meet with policyholders last Thursday morning. The purpose was to make it easier for people from the area to use a central location to discuss filing claims and completing other required paperwork following tornado damage.
Travelers also provided policyholders with a central location for claims filing. They held their mobile claim office on the same day, running it all day at the Home Depot in Trotwood.
According to Baker, it’s important for policyholders to file their claims as early as possible. There are many reasons for this. These include that repairs from tornado insurance claims can take a while. Contractors will be busy taking all the calls they receive for the repairs. Moreover, the repairs themselves will require some time to complete.