Insurance companies send teams to Ozarks

Insurance company representatives said they received thousands of claims after the storm, but a comprehensive cost estimate for damage to insured private property was unavailable at press time.

Preliminary damage estimates released by the State Emergency Management Agency put uninsured statewide losses from the storm at $107 million, including public buildings, roads and utility infrastructure, with a staggering $40 million in Greene County alone. Pulaski County’s $8.3 million damage estimate was a distant second.

As of Jan. 31, American Family Insurance had received 6,300 storm-related claims in southwest, south central and central Missouri, said spokesman Steve Witmer.

The Wisconsin-based company dispatched 100 certified adjusters to Missouri to handle the deluge of claims from residential, commercial and farm/ranch policyholders.

American Family’s catastrophe team is relying heavily on the company’s technological resources while in the field, Witmer said.

“That’s kind of the neat thing about the age that we live in,” he said. “It’s easy to tap into computer networks remotely and data flows very cleanly, and we’re not as tied to a piece of paper as we used to be.”

Illinois-based Allstate, which has 18 exclusive agents in Springfield, also deployed a disaster team to handle mounting customer needs after the storm, said district spokeswoman Melissa Morris.

“The (claim) reporting activity has slowed, but the adjusters continue to be very busy,” she said Jan. 31. “Generally, there’s more property damage than auto damage.”

Closer to home, Springfield-based American National Property and Casualty Co. responded to more than 300 property claims, mainly from ice-hardened tree limbs gouging roofs and obliterating fences.

After reviewing deductibles, between 25 percent and 30 percent of ANPAC policyholders who filed claims opted to cancel them, said Michael Hunter, property claims director.

Within 14 days of the storm, ANPAC had inspected 95 percent of its claims and closed 90 percent of them, Hunter said, noting that reinspections may be warranted if leaks are discovered when temperatures warm up.

At Great Southern Insurance, manager Byron Robison said many policyholders are working through the gradual and deliberate process that follows a natural disaster.

“Right now, you might say this is a phase where customers are starting to find out what their policies actually say – what’s good news and what’s bad news,” he said. “Now, the customers are waiting to get back estimates.”

At the state Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration, officials continue to handle a steady stream of questions about the storm, said spokeswoman Emily Kampeter. Many Missourians are finding out that their insurance policies didn’t cover detached structures, Kampeter said.

The DIFP Consumer Insurance Hotline at (800) 726-7390 also handles complaints about insurance providers.

“If they’ve called their agent and they’re not getting a response and they’re not liking it, then they can call our department,” Kampeter said. “We might be able to resolve something you were unable to resolve before.”

Firms from far and wide bid on city’s storm cleanup