Agents dealing with millions in claims
By Suzanne Werre
Editor
Folks around the area know there was a lot of damage caused during the recent June 29 storm. No one has a greater grasp on the scope of the damage more than the local insurance agents and adjusters who are dealing with the aftermath of not just one claim, but hundreds.
Most of the damage from that Thursday morning storm was structural, noted Turtle Lake Farmers Union Insurance’s Marshall Maxwell. Estimating the loss of one grain bin at about $50,000, he figures one of his claimants suffered about a quarter of a million dollars worth of damage.
Amanda Haseleu of Underwood’s Cottingham Insurance estimates she has one claim that will be more than a million dollars.
The storm that ravaged rural areas in McLean County and beyond tossed grain bins as many as two miles away from their original location, stripped roofs and siding off of buildings, toppled massive power lines and tore a path through the center of the county, devastated the recreational areas and homes at Brush Lake and other nearby lakes.
The claims the agents are dealing with this time around is different than if it had hit a more populated area.
“It’s very different,” said Haseleu. “It’s less numbers of claims, but much bigger dollar amounts on those claims.
