Desperate in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, an independent agent entered the office of his state association headquarters in Baton Rouge, La., and said, "I don't know what to do."
The storm had destroyed his office, displaced his family, and taken his father, one of the elderly residents who died when flood waters swamped a nursing home in New Orleans.
For insurance agents in New Orleans, elsewhere in Louisiana, and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the challenge is more than just serving clients. The hurricane has destroyed their offices, files and homes, and in some cases, killed loved ones.
Jodi Boudreau, executive vice president of the Professional Insurance Agents of Louisiana, said that although no agents lost their lives in the flood, some of their family members were not as fortunate.
Relating the case of the agent who came into the headquarters seeking help after losing his father, she said, "He had nothing. We tried to hook him up with other members and help him set up the process of what to do."
A number of agents, she said, are having to start over from scratch.
While New Orleans and the surrounding area has suffered from flooding, in the worst hit areas of Mississippi–Bay St. Louis and Waveland–buildings and businesses have been totally destroyed, said Richard Davis, president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Mississippi and owner of Terral Insurance Agency in Quitman, Miss. He said 95 percent of the buildings in those towns were destroyed.
Ann Sturdivant, executive director of Professional Insurance Agents of Mississippi in Jackson, Miss., said since the hurricane, agents and staff have worked continuously to take care of customers. In some cases, she said, agents have nailed up boards with the name of the agency where the office once stood and are taking claims information from customers.
"They are back to work," she said. "They have an amazing attitude."
Mr. Davis said he knows of nine agencies that were totally destroyed. He explained that while most of the larger and some midsized agencies have offices outside of the affected areas to fall back on, others do not.
One agency, the Treutel Insurance Agency in Bay St. Louis, has set up a tent for customers. At the end of each day, the owners trek 110 miles to their family, which evacuated to Mobile, Ala. From there they communicate the day's claims data to their carriers before returning the next day.
"They are struggling just to hang on," Mr. Davis said. Some agencies, he related, are losing staff from the strain of the work. The conditions there, he explained, are "just like a third world country. It's pretty bad."
Some areas have power, but nothing else. Everything, down to paper clips, is gone, and the office supply stores are gone as well, he said.
Ms. Sturdivant took two pick-up trucks with office supplies and equipment to the Mississippi coast to distribute to agents in need.
Communication in Mississippi remains a major obstacle, agent groups said. The only way to make telephone calls in the region is with a satellite phone. Agents with generators can power-up a laptop and communicate by e-mail with the phone, but outside of that, there is no communication.
Louisiana is equally challenged, though slowly getting better.
"We are taking one step forward and two steps back, and hope by the end of the day we have moved an inch," is how Robert Page, president of Charles A. Page and Sons Insurance Agency Inc. in Houma, La., and secretary/treasurer of PIA National, described the situation.
Communication remains an issue, explained Jeff Albright, chief executive officer of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, La. A major telephone switching station in New Orleans was destroyed. No calls are getting through, except for 800 numbers, he said. This makes it difficult to impossible to get through to carriers.
Mr. Page said PIA has asked carriers to set up alternative numbers for agents to call. The carriers, however, have been reluctant because they are getting claims calls on the existing 800 numbers. But the reason those calls get though, he said, is because they come from out-of-state customers.
To help agents, Ms. Boudreau said the association has set up chat forums and an information page on its Web site, to help track them down.
Another issue is how agents will get paid. Officials said carriers are working with agents, in some cases helping them with a plan to pay a percentage on business they would normally receive, so agents have some income.
But Mr. Graham noted that where a client has lost everything, some renewal premiums will be returned, cutting commissions. There are also lost clients because the business is gone.
"There is a lot of financial burden on these agents, besides the physical part," he said.
Finding office space is another challenge, as all available office and housing space has been taken, leaving some agents without a roof over their heads. There is also spotty mail service.
Additional information is available:
o In Louisiana at www.piaoflouisiana.com and www.iiabl.com (look for the Agency Assistance Resource to volunteer).
o In Mississippi at www.msagent.org (IIA of Mississippi site) and call PIA of Mississippi at 800-898-0136 or 601-936-6474.
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