It all started just a little over a month ago. Pestilence, plague (so to speak), death, and destruction. What a bummer! So here we are, at the beginning of another desperate season of weather-related destruction. And the much-abhorred hurricane season hasn't even arrived yet.
Somehow, tornadoes have always been put on the back burner … until a couple of weeks ago. First there were those 113 tornadoes that swept through the central United States, all in one night. The coup de grace occurred when we were in Nashville, Tenn., for the PLRB conference and tornadoes swept through the area, an extremely scary scenario, especially when you're witnessing it all from the penthouse-floor window of your high rise hotel suite (so much for concierge floors!). Horribly, merely a week later, another series of tornadoes devastated the same areas of Nashville. This time it was even worse, with dozens of dead and scores still missing, at this writing. Welcome to the early start of the Mean Season.
In the insurance industry, we've all become accustomed to cringing at the June 1 start of hurricane season, and we hold our collective breath until it passes. Unfortunately, we have, of late, become accustomed to its passing later and later, as the window of "hurricane opportunity" and intensity continues to increase and escalate. So the "celebration" of possible recovery has started early this year.
You may think that those of us in the back room do not actually realize that with which you are faced. That we don't realize what you're going through, what sacrifices you've been making throughout your day-to-day challenges following the most recent hurricane losses and challenges in the Gulf Coast. And now this drastic tornado season. You are wrong if you think that.
Some of us have visited the devastation and, indeed, we do know what you are facing. We have seen the devastation, the look of hopelessness and desperation on survivors' faces. We have also been firsthand witnesses to the most recent tornado destruction in Tennessee and southern Kentucky. We are with you witnessing their tests of faith and spirit.
Only you, our adjuster readers, can help them recover, can help them renew their faith, can help them regain their dignity and spirit. Are we all up to it? You tell us. Tell us your stories; tell us about the challenges you're facing. We promise to publish your firsthand accounts of help, and your participation in the rescuing of that all-important hope and spirit … and survival in the face of devastating adversity. Your messages need not be heroic in any sense of the word. But we would like to hear about your compassionate acts and responses. And of course, you know you must be compassionate while doing the best you can to be cognizant of your companies' bottom lines and limits of coverage. You can do all that, and more, because that's what we're here for.
This is your time to shine, to do your job above and beyond the call of duty, to prove what true customer service is really all about.
Who knows what the elements will throw at us in the ensuing weeks and months? It's just the beginning of the Mean Season. Are you up to it?
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