As the storm surge ebbed, Helene’s winds died down and the massive cleanup began, thousands of claims adjusters were spreading across the Southeast in the past several days to assess the damage.
Their job is to put numbers on the insurance claims of consumers and businesses, conveying them to insurance companies for payment. But first they must navigate a landscape studded with downed trees, fallen power lines and flood waters that still have not receded, said Meredith Brogan, president of network solutions at metro Atlanta-based Crawford & Co., a global claims management company.
“When a catastrophe hits, they are deployed very, very quickly,” she said Monday. “We now have boots on the ground.”
Crawford & Co. handles a wide range of insurance claims. Based in Peachtree Corners, it has operations in 70 nations and nearly 10,000 employees; last fiscal year, the company had revenues of about $1.3 billion.
Those adjusters have their work cut out for them.
Hurricane Helene roared past the western coast of Florida, made landfall in the state’s Big Bend area, then moved through the heart of Georgia and into the western side of the Carolinas and into Tennessee, killing at least 120 people — more than one-third of them in North Carolina.
Gov. Brian Kemp has asked for an emergency disaster declaration from the federal government, a request endorsed by the state’s 16-member congressional delegation. The request would cover 89 of the state’s 159 counties.
Crawford & Co. tries to send adjusters who have an expertise in the kind of damage they are investigating, Brogan said, noting, “We have different types of claims.”
The damage being reported came primarily from the storm surge in Florida, the wind in Georgia and the flooding in North Carolina, she said.
First estimates from forecasting company Accuweather had been that Helene caused up to $110 billion in damage, Brogan said. “It’s less than what was caused by Katrina — if those estimates are right — but it’s still significant damage,” she said.
Accuweather has since raised its estimate to $160 billion.
Adjusted for inflation, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 did about $175 billion in damage, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the worst of it in Louisiana.
And whatever the type of damage a person or business suffers, once it is safe to do so, the smart move is to prepare for any insurance claim that will be made, Brogan said.
“We tell people: ‘Document, document, document. Take lots of photos,’” she said.
Filing an insurance claim can be done online or via phone.
The vast majority of Americans do not have flood insurance. And most may not need it, but if they do, it can be financially devastating not to be covered, Brogan said.
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