In the devastating wake of Superstorm Sandy, as thousandsof homeowners and businesses across 11 states continue to gaugetheir financial losses, many independent insurance agencies deserveplaudits for extraordinary service.

When calamity strikes, many consumers first turn to theirinsurance agents to quickly file a claim and just as expeditiouslyhave it adjusted and paid. But, as Sandy demonstrated in a verypersonal way for many, independent agents provide far more thanclaims service. 

Indeed, many agents offered more than what their policyholdersexpected, offering risk mitigation tips in advance of the storm,keen advice on what to do during the disaster, and even a shoulderto lean on for emotional support—at a time when their ownbusinesses were under extreme duress.

Related: Read the another Paul Morrissette article“Safe Passage.”

This all became clear after recent discussions with severalagency principals, among them Gary Morris, CEO of Rampart Insurancein Lake Success, N.Y., and Joe Parisi, chairman and CEO ofOtterstedt Insurance Agency in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 

Both Joe and Gary had learned quite a bit from previousexperience after Hurricane Irene defied most expectations. Needlessto say, when Sandy reared, they were prepared and ready—on behalfof their employees and policyholders. Their experiences areworthwhile reminders to all agents in areas prone to naturaldisasters—and that is pretty much the entire U.S. these days—thatplanning for the worst and taking corrective actions is anecessary, if not vital, agency best practice.

Prudence in Prescience

A natural disaster triggers an avalanche of claims, but what ifthe agency is out of power when the claims roll in? What ifemployees cannot drive to the office because of severe damage toroads and other infrastructure? What if employees must attend totheir own damage-related challenges at home?

Rampart Insurance was prepared for all these possibilities—justin case. “We had given everyone on the staff an 800-number to dialinto a conference call if the electricity at the agency shut downor they couldn't make it in,” Gary Morris said. “We wanted everyonehere to be ready to take in the claims wherever they could.”

Policyholders reporting a claim would callinto the agency or their respective carriers, as is typical.However, if the agency were shuttered, a prerecorded message wouldadvise the callers to phone an 800-number. The calls were thenrouted to the agency's staff at their homes—or wherever they mightbe. “Everyone, no matter their regular jobs, was ready to take downclaims information,” Morris said. “We even recruited the help of aretired claims person, who had agreed to pitch in from hishome.”

Prior to the storm's arrival, the staff convened a meeting todiscuss preparations. The agency emailed each employee insurancecompany claims contacts for commercial lines and personal lines,contact information for damage restoration firms and a claimreporting form. 

“Any employee could now take down such information as the nameof the insurer, the policy number, the location of the loss and thedescription of the damage,” Morris said.

Related: Read the article “Market to LGBTCommunity” also by Paul Morrissette.

On Monday morning, hours before the storm made landfall thatnight, the agency gave the staff the rest of the day off. More than100 employees were ready at their homes for the onslaught ofclaims, in case the agency lost power the following day. “We toldthe staff not to forward any calls to the claims department, but totake down the information themselves—they now had the claim form,'”Morris said. “We were absolutely prepared.”

Fortunately, the agency maintained power, and nearly the entirestaff was able to make it back to the office on Tuesday. The agencyestablished a triage system, calling upon each employee to recordclaims information and put the completed form in one of two bins,one for personal lines and the other for commercial lines. Everyfive minutes, claims filled a bin, which was then hauled to sixemployees tasked with calling in the claims to the relevantcarriers, by phone, fax or website. Three other employees manuallyentered the claims into the agency's client management system. AsMorris put it, “We had all hands on deck—literally.”

The first week after the storm, the agency handled more than2,000 claims. The storm's heavy impact on Long Island meant thatnew claims were reported throughout November as well. The agency'splanning did not extend just to claims handling. Days before thestorm struck on Oct. 29, the agency emailed every singlepolicyholder a list of disaster preparedness tips, from inspectinggutters for debris to bracing outside furniture, to reduce thepotential for damage. 

Sandy cast a wide swath of damage throughout the New Yorkmetropolitan area, and New Jersey's Otterstedt Insurance Agencyshowed similar prudence in assisting its clients. Three days beforeSandy struck, the agency emailed a document, “The Protection ofYour Family and Business is Our Mission” to thousands of Otterstedtpolicyholders. The document listed 10 risk mitigation tips, amongthem, “Secure Household Appliances,” “Prepare an Evacuation Plan,”“Test and Refuel Your Backup Generator” and “Have Your InsurancePolicy Numbers and Insurance Company Claim Phone NumberHandy.” 

The agency also emailed a link topolicyholders through which they could download a mobile app tofile and upload a claim. It urged policyholders who might loseelectricity to contact the firm via its website, Facebook orTwitter. “We wanted them to have as many options as possible toreport a claim quickly,” Joe Parisi said. “If you lose electricity,you can still charge your phone from your car. I had to do justthat myself when I lost power at my home.”

The agency also posted risk mitigation tips on its Facebookpage, in case customers had previously neglected to download theadvice from their email accounts. “What we learned from HurricaneIrene and other storms is that communication is key—throughwhatever channels are available,” said Mike Barbara, the agency'ssenior vice president of personal lines. 

In Times of Trouble

Six of Otterstedt's seven New Jersey branches lost power.“Employees knew beforehand that if their branch was closed, theywere to report to whichever ones remained open, and in this case itwas our branch in Summit,” Parisi said. 

Related: Read another article on Hurricane Sandy“Chubb Puts $880M Price Tag on Sandy Losses.”

The entire staff of more than 100 employees took and reportedclaims. “Everyone was on claims duty; I personally handled 50claims,” Barbara said. “Even our accounting manager, who knowslittle about homeowners' coverage, handled 20 claims. We hadbriefed her on how to do it well before the hurricanestruck.” 

The agency's clients filed more than 1,600 claims in the first 2weeks after Sandy made landfall, a significant percentage of whichwere paid within 2 weeks of reporting. Parisi is proud of hisagency's performance, and joined Gary Morris in saying, “We were100 percent prepared for this.”

Agencies across the country can learn from the practices ofRampart, Otterstedt and others who have faced natural catastrophes.With proper foresight, independent agents can be ready to helppolicyholders to report claims as quickly as possible at a timethat insurance expertise is truly valued. 

When disaster strikes, customers expect to benefit from thepersonal service that can only be delivered by an independentinsurance agent. In times of trouble, agents like Gary and Joe arepreparing contingencies not just for their own businesses andfamilies—but for their policyholders, too.