In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, agents on the East Coast areall too aware of the adage “There's no rest for the weary.”

“We were in triage-like mode all day today,” said Jack Blair,president of Nottingham Insurance.

Some agents have been without power or evacuated from their ownhomes, but know that the days post-disaster are when they areneeded most. To field Sandy-related claims, the agents haverelied on backup generators and telephone rollover systems.

“We have to be here for these events,” said Thomas Crowley,partner at CookMaran & Assocs. and chairman of IIABNY.

And it's going to be a busy week. Catastrophe modeling firm AIRWorldwide estimates that Sandy will cause between $7 billionand $15 billion in insured losses—possibly making the storm thethird-costliest in U.S. history.

The estimate includes wind and storm surge damage toresidential, commercial and industrial properties and contents, aswell as automobiles. Additionally, the estimate includes additionalliving expenses and business interruption. It also takes intoaccount demand surge.

Related: Read PC360 editor Mark Ruquet's firsthandexperience of surviving Sandy on Staten Island.

Next: Three agents describe how they are operating onLong Island

LongIsland

Many residents and businesses remain without electricity on LongIsland, with nearly 850,000 customers without power as of earlyWednesday morning.

Massive coastal flooding has destroyed dunes and beaches,buckled boardwalks and carried sand several blocks into thecommunities. Not to mention the countless homes with floodedbasements—or worse, those no longer standing.

Even agents aren't exempt from Sandy's wrath. Kevin Crossley,vice president of AAA New York Insurance Services, lives on thebarrier island of Lido Beach (on the south shore of Nassau Countynear Long Beach) and evacuated to a local hotel. He has been unableto return to his home until the mandatory evacuation order islifted.

Crossley's agency, located in Garden City, did not lose power,and has fielded claims related to tree damage and from floodedcars. “Sandy is the worst storm in memory,” Crossley said. “Very,very bad and we have only just begun to understand the magnitude ofthe damage.”

Sandy's path took it inland, south of Long Island's East End,which left residents “lucky.” “We got very lucky with this storm.Had we suffered a direct hit I am sure the coastal erosion would bemuch more severe as well as tree damage,” said Thomas Crowley,partner at CookMaran & Assocs. (CMA) and chairman of IIABNY.

Located in Southampton, CMA reviewed its disastercontingency plan before the storm hit. The agency has agenerator and a rollover system forwards claims calls whentelephone lines are down. “We review the plan yearly,” Crowleysaid. “We have to be here for these events.”

Twenty percent of the staff reported to the office on Tuesday tofield claims and contact clients in the area. One day after thestorm, CMA fielded 60 claims calls and anticipates at least 10percent of its clients to file within the next few days.

Located 50 miles west, the James F. Sutton Agency in East Ilsip lost powerduring the storm and relied on its generator for power and CSR24 tohandle calls. By 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the agency was upand running.

“I had a call from a longtime client whose vacation home on FireIsland had another home leaning against it,” said James Sutton,president. “His interior sustained significant damage from oceanflooding.”

Just south of East Ilsip, 12 homes on Fire Island were swept tosea and 80 percent of the remaining homes sustained damage. Suttonanticipates that tidal surges along the coast will drive mostclaims. “Homes have been knocked off their foundations while othershave had several feet of water inside their homes,” he said.

Commercially, the agency has received claims related to roof,business interruption and loss of refrigeration.

Next: Agents in New Jersey and Delaware describe theirareas and how they are operating

New Jersey

Damage in New Jersey is extensive and the Jersey Shore isdevastated. But areas inland weren't exempt. The Phillipsburgarea has widespread power losses and tree damage.

Caroline Charron, account executive at Ahart Frinzi &Smith (AF&S) said that friends have been told to expectpower restoration after Nov. 7. The agency's Phillipsburg officehas been without power. To handle the claims process, clients callthe office and leave claim reports on voicemail. Employees—thosewith power—have retrieved those voicemails from home and called theinsureds to begin the claims process.

In case clients show up at the AF&S office, employees havestaffed the location—without power. However, the agency has reliedon Facebook and Twitter to provide real time informationregarding office closures, insurance updates and pictures. Prior tothe storm, AF&S posted hurricane precautions and specialclaims reporting telephone numbers on its website.

AF&S operates another office in Alexandria, Va. Employeeswere unable to get to the offices on Tuesday because of roadclosures. AF&H account executive Jill Roth submits this picturefrom 3rd and G NE streets, Washington, D.C.

In Hamilton (near Trenton), Nottingham Insurance was closed onMonday and Tuesday due to the State of Emergency status. JackBlair, president, said that his agency regained power around 3 p.m.on Wednesday. Phone lines also were out, but the agency redirectedcalls to cell phones. “We were in triage-like mode all day today,working many cell phones, returning clients calls and directingthem to the respective insurance carriers,” he said.

Staff members texted and called its larger stakeholders andclients to alert them that the agency was closed. Nottingham alsoupdated its website with a a Hurricane alert popup and posted storm-relatedinformation on its Facebook page.

Besides Hamilton, the agency has an office in Yardley, Pa.,which is still without power. The Yardley staff will report toHamilton on Thursday if the office remains without power.

Both locations are within 50 miles of the Jersey Shore. Sofar, claims have revolved around power outages, damage from fallingobjects, wind damage and roofs. The agency anticipates receiving alarge number of flood claims—once clients are able to return to theJersey Shore to assess the damage. “I truly expect the damageto be epic given some of the video and pictures we have seen,”Blair said. “But the insureds need to get to their respective homesto find out just what happened before moving forward.”

Delaware

David Wilgus, partner and owner of Wilgus Assocs., said hislocation was on the backside of Sandy and didn't bear the brunt ofheavy flooding.

On Monday morning, “the winds shifted from the northeast to thenorthwest, and that blows the sea away from shore and blows thewater out of the bays,” he said. “It was a blessing to us.”

Based in a resort area, the agency insures many second homesaround its two locations in Bethany Beach and Lewes. The waterreceded early this morning and last night and clients have beenable to get to their properties and assess damage.

The agency did not lose power, but Wilgus took precautionsbefore the storm, just in case. Staff members unplugged computersand power operations in case of a power surge. Data is stored in alocation offsite, so policy information is accessible with anInternet connection.