Published: September 19, 2008 11:08 am      

Insurance information for Hurricane Ike victims

Texas Farm Bureau
Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Companies have deployed a mobile response team and adjusters into the field in response to the storm. Policy holders are urged to call 800-266-5458 to get their claims reported and assigned to an adjuster. The toll-free number is the fastest way to get claims reported and processed.
“The most important thing we want to convey as a company to all those affected by the storm and to those helping is that our thoughts and prayers are with them,” says Mike Gerik, executive vice president of Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Companies. “We know this is a very trying and emotional time. The Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Companies are doing everything we can to promptly deal with these issues and meet our members’ needs as quickly as possible.”
To date, 27,000 claims have been reported. This early number will rapidly change as residents are able to return to the area and report their claims. We strongly encourage State Farm customers to report their claims as soon as possible to begin the claim handling process.

State Farm Insurance
State Farm Insurance
State Farm Insurance continues to increase our presence in the areas impacted by Hurricane Ike. As of Wednesday, 21 mobile office locations are available to process customer claims. These mobile locations are located throughout the Houston, Beaumont/ Port Arthur and Lufkin/ Nacogdoches areas. To date, almost 50,000 claims have been reported and approximately 52,000 calls have been received by the State Farm call center. This number will rapidly change as residents are able to return to the area and report their claims. We strongly encourage State Farm customers to report their claims as soon as possible to begin the claim handling process. Claims can be reported three different ways:
• Contact your local State Farm Agent
• Call 1-800- SF-CLAIM
• Submit online at www.statefarm.com


Texas Windstorm Insurance
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has one Claims Department located in Austin, Texas. It is preferred that policyholders contact their agent to report their loss/claim. Their agent in turn will report the claim to TWIA so it can be assigned to an independent adjusting firm/adjuster for investigation. The adjusters will report their findings to TWIA and we will make the final decision on the claim.
• If you have a windstorm or hail loss, immediately contact your agent to report your claim.
• The agent will confirm the details of your loss and report your claim to TWIA.
• If your TWIA policy on the damaged property was in force at the time of the loss, TWIA will assign your claim to a local adjuster for investigation.
• TWIA will mail you a copy of the Claim Notice Acknowledgment and Assignment which will identify the adjusting firm handling your claim.
• The adjuster will contact you for an appointment to inspect your property.
• Please make reasonable and necessary temporary repairs ONLY to protect the property from further damage. “Temporary” means something that can be reasonably removed for inspection. It cannot be repairs that will prevent the adjuster from seeing the reported damage.
• Take photos of the damage prior to making any temporary repairs. Keep documentation of these repairs. Give the photos and documentation to the adjuster.
• Please review the “Important Notice for Insured's” which is attached to your policy.
• If your agent cannot be reached you can call 1-800-788-8247. Listen to the recording for instructions on how to report your claim.
• PLEASE ONLY REPORT YOUR CLAIM ONE TIME.
Note: In the event of a serious storm, we may establish other methods of reporting and collecting loss notices. Please visit this website for the latest information and updates.

Allstate
Allstate recommends customers call 1-800-ALLSTATE for information.