After the Storm: Navigating Claims Following Catastrophes

One in 10 homes in the U.S. were impacted by natural hazards in 2021, according to CoreLogic. And, according to Swiss Re, insured losses from natural disasters in 2021 again exceeded the previous ten-year average, continuing the trend of an annual 5-6% rise in losses seen in recent decades. Those moments, days and months after an event can bring out the best in an independent insurance agency—if it’s prepared. And as we are well into the 2022 hurricane season, now is an especially good time to be prepared. In this episode of Agency Nation Radio with Independent Agent magazine news editor AnneMarie McPherson Spears, we hear from independent agents on how they steered their communities through the aftermath of catastrophes, even as their own businesses were impacted as well. “Having a good disaster recovery plan…is first and foremost,” says Roy Riley of Peel & Holland Insurance in Benton, Kentucky. “You know, having a plan on how we are going to respond to that. Our agency always lives by the mantra that when times are their worst is when our clients expect us to be at our best.” One of the biggest challenges is helping clients who have never experienced a massive disaster before and guiding them as the process unfolds over the weeks that follow the catastrophe. “What we learned is that they need us more after the claim is turned in, not the initial claim, because they could do that. We could do that. Anybody could do that,” says Donna DiCarlo of Riverlands Insurance Services in LaPlace, Louisiana. “But after the claim is turned in, they have a million questions going through the process, especially if it's a first claim, new home buyers, et cetera. And what they need from us is they need to know the process.” Agency Nation Radio is where insurance professionals turn on the mic and share unscripted stories about leadership, technology, marketing, success and failure—stories that helped make them the professionals they are today. From main street USA to the pages of Independent Agent magazine—we’ve got the stories you want to hear. For more, catch Agency Nation Radio on your favorite streaming platform or visit iamagazine.com/podcasts. Have a story to tell? Contact Susan Bonner, Big "I" assistant vice president of marketing and communications.