Insurance firms begin arduous work after tornado hits

A handful of Jackson insurance companies played a dual role Wednesday as residents turned to them during disaster.

Not only were agents faced with countless home and vehicle claims, they were victims as well.

Electricity was out most of the day at a few uptown insurance offices, which made it difficult for agents to process claims.

Bill Wallace's State Farm office on East Main Street was damaged when office manager Kim Kester arrived Wednesday morning.

The front glass was busted in and tree limbs were in the lobby. The Meyer's Bakery sign -- the donut shop used to be more than a block away -- was in their front parking lot.

Kester and others cleaned up the parking lot and set up a card table for "drive-through" service until a generator was brought in around 10 a.m.

"It took a long time to get going," she said. "But other State Farm agents came and helped. They were amazing."

Kester said the claims were too many to name. She didn't know how many people had stopped by.

Working the phone

Farther west on Main Street, Kevin Sawyer at Shelter Insurance worked his cell phone all day.

He set up his answering service to notify customers to call his cellular number and it chirped consistently all day.

"It just complicates things when there is no power or no phones," he said. "It's nobody's fault, it's just difficult."

Sawyer said adjusters had been called up from the south. They had been working other tornado sites that were hit on Monday, he said.

Stu Garrison, a Farmer's Insurance agent, said he had about 30 claims going late Wednesday morning and expected double that amount to trickle in during the next few days.

He said a disaster such as Tuesday night's tornado is too much for a single office to handle, so it's common practice for agencies to call in disaster teams to assess the situation.

He said tornado victims should board up and protect whatever they can. He said if tarps or wood is purchased, the victims should keep receipts and that could go against their deductibles.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635