N.C. Winter Storm Damage May Hit $113 Million

By Michael Ha

NU Online News Service, Dec. 13, 2:17 p.m.EST?The winter storm that blasted the East Coast last weekcould result in up to $113 million in insured property damage inNorth Carolina, according to the latest projections by NorthCarolina Insurance News Service in Raleigh, N.C.

The industry group said as many as 60,300 claims could befiled.

Service estimates come from a survey of the four largestinsurance companies that operate in North Carolina: The AllstateCorp. in Northbrook, Ill.; Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide; NorthCarolina Farm Bureau Federation Inc. in Raleigh, N.C.; and StateFarm Insurance Companies in Bloomington, Ill.

"The storm hit North Carolina Wednesday evening-Thursday morningof last week. And people are still getting in touch with theiragents, and we are still trying to get a handle on the situation,"said John Peterson, executive director of North Carolina InsuranceNews Service.

"Everyone knew it was on the radar screen, and they were gearingup for it. But it turned out to be much more of an ice storm thanexpected. We had some snowfall last year, but nothing like thestorm that we saw last week. Some 1.2 million people were withoutpower across the state after the storm hit," Mr. Peterson said.

He added that catastrophe teams, including claimsrepresentatives and adjusters, are continuing to examine damagedhomes and automobiles across the state to handle claimsettlements.

"All insurance companies operating in North Carolina haveactivated their catastrophic response teams, and they are treatingthis as the catastrophic event that it is," he said.

Mr. Peterson noted recent past years' loss events hitting thestate included Hurricane Floyd in 1999, which incurred insuredproperty damage of approximately $835 million in North Carolina,and Hurricane Fran in 1996, which caused about $1.3 billion ininsured property damage.

"Damage from this winter storm is nowhere near those, but it'sstill a significant damage," he said, adding that damage to homes,autos and other structures, and food spoilage make up the majorityof claims, while some claims have also been received for powersurges that damaged electrical equipment.