Insurance agents stress early filing

Hurricane Isaac has gone and passed, leaving his mark on our area’s trees, sheds, homes and businesses.

Local insurance agents say now is the time to act if your property has been damaged.

Urgent claim filing is among the list of things insurance agents say makes everyone’s life easier when storms damage property within our area.

“As soon as possible is always the best way to handle this,” Farm Bureau Insurance agent Lloyd Ponson said. “The adjusters are taking them as soon as they come in and are jumping on them and getting them. The quicker one calls in, the better it is.”

“We encourage all of our policyholders to contact their insurance agent immediately if they believe they have damage to their property or a loss of contents,” said Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance CEO Richard Robertson. “We are working to make the claims process as smooth as possible.”

The premise of the claims system is a first-come, first-serve basis. In theory, that means the sooner someone files, the sooner his or her claim can be resolved.

But agents say that system is fluid, and more urgent claims are thrust to the top of the pile.

“Tell them the severity of it,” Ponson said. “If you have water in your house or something serious like that, those claims are going to be jumped on first so that we can try and get people tarps or whatever they need to prevent their property from getting further damage.”

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said he urges people to do their best to minimize damages before making their claims.

“That’s an insured person’s duty – to minimize damage,” he said. “They should take whatever reasonable steps necessary to try and minimize damages. Once you do so, keep all of your receipts from all of that activity.”

Aside from urgency and damage minimization, agents are telling people to file claims no matter how big or small.

Farm Bureau agent Joseph Blanchard said he “strongly urges” people to make a claim if they have any doubts about their damage.

He said it is much better to let a claims personnel employee decide your fate than to be left wondering.

“Call the claim in whether you’re sure or not,” Blanchard said. “Whether you know you’re covered or whether or not the claim exceeds the deductible isn’t important – call the claim in anyway. If you have any questions at all, take a cautious approach and call the claim in. From there, if you have any questions, call your respective agent and we’d be happy to answer any questions that you might be able to have.”

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Chief Claims Officer Quin Netzel agreed and said people should claim if they have sustained damage.

“We do encourage people to file a claim if they have had damage that they feel would exceed their deductible amount,” Netzel said. “That’s certainly the case.”

“People from Louisiana are very hospitable people,” All-State spokeswoman Allison Hatcher added. “Sometimes they think that they shouldn’t make a claim because their damage doesn’t compare to other people’s damages. We strongly advise people to not think that way. We have plenty enough people available to help assist anyone who needs help.”

Rookies to insurance claims need not worry – agents claim that the process is not as complicated as it sounds.

The first step someone should do is to call the office of his or her respective insurance office.

If those office lines tie up, most insurance companies also have a direct claim line that can be used for customers calling to report damage.

“We try to make this as easy as possible,” Ponson said. “We know this is a tough time for people, and we really try and simplify this as much as we can.”

Once on the phone with someone, Netzel said a caller will need to provide a detailed description of the damage and also their best contact information.

“If you have your policy number, that helps, too,” Netzel said. “But that’s not necessary when on the line. The operator will be able to look that up.”

Creating a stress-free environment in the time of a crisis is not always the easiest thing to do.

But that is the goal of everyone asked – they want customers to feel at ease knowing that everything will be taken care of in a timely manner.

“We want people to know that we are making ourselves available, and we’ll be responding in a timely fashion to their needs,” Netzel said. “Being available and letting people know we genuinely care about their needs is what helps people feel calm.”

“We just want to tell people, ‘Hey, don’t worry about it, we’re going to get somebody out there as soon as possible,’” Ponson said. “Give the folks you call your cell number because we promise someone will call you back as soon as possible.”

Numbers show

storm brushes area

The Farm Bureau and Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance claim numbers show the storm did not have a huge bite to the area.

Blanchard said as of 9 a.m. on Friday morning, 11 windstorm claims were called into him by Lafourche Parish customers.

Ponson said statewide numbers stood at 500 for all of Louisiana’s Farm Bureau offices, but he expects 1,500-2,000 claims by the time Isaac is finished.

Netzel said Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance had about 1,200 claims and also expects more.

“We expect the numbers to rise in the coming days, as well,” Netzel said. “That usually happens as more people return home and more people have telephone access.”

The claims called have been a mixed bag of wind, water and tree damage to this point.

“It really varies claim by claim,” Netzel said.

Numerically, those numbers pale in comparison to other storms of Louisiana’s past.

But no one involved is ready to say our area dodged a bullet with Isaac.

“I guess you can say that for the masses,” Netzel said. “But the person with water flooding their home doesn’t believe that.”

Be aware of contractors

Donelon said he wanted to urge all citizens in need of work to check with their local Better Business Bureau before hiring a contractor.

He said lessons have been learned in storms past that scam artists will show up in troubled areas and offer to work for a small down-payment fee.

History shows some of these citizens never return to the job site and escape with their payment.

“We urge everyone to check out every contractor hired to do work on a damaged area,” Donelon said. “This was a very common pitfall for folks in the aftermath of Rita and Katrina. Fly-by-night contractors love to descend on South Louisiana and take checks and then head east with the geese. Ask the Better Business Bureau or your adjuster if they’ve heard of that worker doing work in your area. If we do that, we can avoid this from happening again.”

If all else fails, Donelon said he urges anyone with questions to call the Louisiana Insurance Commission at its toll-free number 1-800-259-5300.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Donelon said.

Jim Donelon