Blizzard Losses May Not Be Excessive

By Michael Ha

NU Online News Service, Feb. 18, 3:18 p.m. EST?The blizzard that swept through Midwest and Northeastern states over the last couple of days has resulted in an expected spike in claims, but so far, the amount has not been that substantial, industry professionals said.

"In some areas--primarily the Southern regions affected by the storm, including Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia--we are seeing what you could characterize as an 'expected spike' in claims numbers, but nothing substantial in terms of increase in claims," said Bill Mellander, a spokesperson at the Allstate Corporation in Northbrook, Ill.

Mr. Mellander added that Allstate's national catastrophe team has provided some additional customer assistance in these regions, and as the snow continues to fall farther north, the company is monitoring those situations as well. "We don't have damage estimates, but we are not seeing substantial numbers," he said.

Mr. Mellander noted that some of the claims he has heard involve tree limbs falling on roofs and the snow collapsing on small outbuildings like sheds and car ports, as well as losses from power outages and some auto accidents.

For State Farm Insurance Companies, there are seven states--Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee--that have shown an increase in the number of claims due to the snowstorm.

"What we have seen is that combined in these states, there have been about 1,300 homeowners claims filed as of this morning," said Ana Compain-Romero, spokesperson for State Farm in Bloomington, Ill.

Ms. Compain-Romero said that damages are caused by snow, wind and ice, as well as power outages. "There are some agent offices that are still unable to open their doors, and we encourage our policyholders to contact their agents as soon as possible. We are more than likely going to deploy some additional people to these areas," she said.

But according to Insurance Information Institute, the President's Day holiday may have reduced the effects of the storm.

"You have ice-snapped trees and power outages. But the good news is that because of the holiday, a lot of people stayed home yesterday. So less people were on the road, which reduced the likelihood of auto accidents and automotive claims," said Loretta Worters, spokesperson for the Institute in New York.

"You will also have flooding, but most of that is not covered by standard policies. We don't think it's going to be a particularly large loss," Ms. Worters said.

In 2002, the winter season resulted in $625 million in overall insured losses, she noted, and the biggest snowstorm-related damages occurred in March 1993, when a 20-state winter storm caused $1.7 billion in insured losses, making it the ninth-largest insured catastrophe in the United States.

"But this storm is not going to be anywhere near that," Ms. Worters said. "Adjusters are just getting in to see what losses there are, but from what I am gathering, it's not going to be a large storm. Even though there is a lot of snow, it's not that severe compared to storms from previous years. We are not hearing a lot of big losses from this one," she said.

Special Reports /

Blizzard Losses May Not Be Excessive

Related Stories

Recommended For You