Declarations

June 16, 2014

Powerful Confirmation

“A few years ago, we wouldn’t see the instant pictures (on the internet) of damage. … Now, we are seeing pictures of what the tornado looks like immediately. It’s powerful confirmation.”

—John Robinson, the warning coordinator for the National Weather Service’s Little Rock office, said Facebook, Twitter and other social media as well as smartphone apps are helping people learn about storm warnings faster.

Hail Claims

“So, in one day we got more than a year’s worth of hail claims in Pennsylvania.”

—A State Farm spokesperson describing the insurer’s claims figures in Pennsylvania following the May 22 hail storm that caused widespread damage in the state. State Farm said that, as of May 28, it received 1,228 homeowners/structural claims and 9,105 auto claims in Pennsylvania from the May 22 hail storm activity. In comparison, State Farm had 6,324 total auto and homeowners/structural claims related to hail storm activities in Pennsylvania for all of 2013.

Midwest Economic Growth

“This is the highest overall reading that we have recorded in more than three years. … Strong growth in new orders over the past two months was the prime factor pushing the overall index higher.”

—Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the Mid-America Business Conditions Index, which tracks economic conditions in nine Midwestern and Plains states. The index, which is based on a survey of supply managers, rose to 60.5 in May from 60.4 in April. Any score above 50 suggests growth.

Wildfire Attention

“Agents are getting a lot of calls from policyholders making sure they have the proper coverage.”

—Kathleen Stalter, risk services manager at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., reported the recent fires have gotten policyholder attention.

Stocked Up

“We like to have 20 to 30 shelters of each size in stock so when a storm hits, we have a large inventory to start pulling out of.”

—Manager Chris Koehn of Lee’s Precast, a storm shelter manufacturer in Aberdeen, Miss., says the storm shelter business has been brisk since 23 tornadoes hit the state on April 28.

Topics Claims Pennsylvania

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Insurance Journal Magazine June 16, 2014
June 16, 2014
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