After intense winds last Wednesday and Sunday, many homeowners throughout New Mexico are dealing with storm damage.Dozens of people shared an array of videos and pictures of the aftermath, from trees on top of cars and businesses to a double-wide trailer completely flipped to its side. So KOAT spoke with Kit Turpen, a sales manager at Berger-Briggs Insurance, on the process of filing an insurance claim:When living in a place like New Mexico, what insurance policies should residents be looking into?”Getting your homeowner’s insurance provides coverage for wind. It’s anticipated, that if your home were to be damaged by wind, this is a covered peril. This is something that your homeowner’s insurance policy will respond to and take care of, minus any deductible that you have on your homeowner’s policy.”If you have property damage, what’s the first step you need to take?”Amend the situation, so that isn’t going to cause additional damage. Then contact your insurance agency, either the agent that sold you the insurance or the company and let them know about the damage. They’ll walk you through any additional information that they need, then they will advise you as to what you can do in the meantime to take care of those damages for them, and they will pay for those damages. If you have any costs incurred, keep a copy of those receipts for the insurance company.”What’s the biggest mistake you notice clients make?”Delaying taking care of the situation. The entire event may be covered by the insurance, minus your deductible. Don’t wait to move forward with doing what is common sense. Also, if you can, make sure that you close that area. Get some plastic or something. Do what you can to help mitigate the damages.”What about vehicles? Does it involve the same process?”Yes. Your auto insurance will also cover damage by a storm or wind. I had an occasion where I was driving up from Carlsbad on vacation, and the wind was blowing so hard that it stripped the paint off the front of my car!”Is the protocol similar for business owners?”Yes. If you’re insuring the building as a business owner, you have wind coverage for that building and damage which might occur. Turn that in to your insurance company. You may have an even larger loss for business interruption because you could not get out and provide the services that your business or business provides because of damage. Many policies have coverage for that.”When it comes to personal property, how do fallen trees particularly come into factor? Is that your responsibility?”It can be, and that’s another reason to get in touch with your insurance company. They’ll work with you on if that incident was really your fault and help you if it’s covered under the contract. They could also pay to remove the tree, but that will depend on the contract as to what happened with the tree.”Do you get insurance after a power outage?”Many insurance homeowner’s policies have a coverage for spoilage. If your power isn’t restored for a day or two, you are likely to lose your food in your refrigerator and or freezer. If this happens, check with your insurance agency and find out if you have some spoilage coverage for all the items that you’ve lost. It could amount to a very expensive loss, especially with the high rate of food right now.How long does it take to see reimbursement from the insurance company?”The adjuster will give you some ideas of that. I can’t say it’s going to be this long or that long, but that’s why the adjuster gets in place. They may want to see the damage or they may just ask to send receipts. It just depends on how complicated the loss was, but it’s pretty quick. Most of the companies are very responsive.”If you have damages, and another intense storm system is on its way, how can you prepare?”Batten down the hatches. Make sure that all secured doors are closed and checked. Also, make sure that your windows are secured because you’re also going to get the dust coming in there, too. You need to also be careful when you’re opening your car doors. That wind will grab that in a second and you’ll end up damaging that car next to you. Be aware as to what that wind is going to cause, especially an event that you may not have anticipated.”To learn more about Berger Briggs, visit their website here.
After intense winds last Wednesday and Sunday, many homeowners throughout New Mexico are dealing with storm damage.
Dozens of people shared an array of videos and pictures of the aftermath, from trees on top of cars and businesses to a double-wide trailer completely flipped to its side.
So KOAT spoke with Kit Turpen, a sales manager at Berger-Briggs Insurance, on the process of filing an insurance claim:
When living in a place like New Mexico, what insurance policies should residents be looking into?
“Getting your homeowner’s insurance provides coverage for wind. It’s anticipated, that if your home were to be damaged by wind, this is a covered peril. This is something that your homeowner’s insurance policy will respond to and take care of, minus any deductible that you have on your homeowner’s policy.”
If you have property damage, what’s the first step you need to take?
“Amend the situation, so that isn’t going to cause additional damage. Then contact your insurance agency, either the agent that sold you the insurance or the company and let them know about the damage. They’ll walk you through any additional information that they need, then they will advise you as to what you can do in the meantime to take care of those damages for them, and they will pay for those damages. If you have any costs incurred, keep a copy of those receipts for the insurance company.”
What’s the biggest mistake you notice clients make?
“Delaying taking care of the situation. The entire event may be covered by the insurance, minus your deductible. Don’t wait to move forward with doing what is common sense. Also, if you can, make sure that you close that area. Get some plastic or something. Do what you can to help mitigate the damages.”
What about vehicles? Does it involve the same process?
“Yes. Your auto insurance will also cover damage by a storm or wind. I had an occasion where I was driving up from Carlsbad on vacation, and the wind was blowing so hard that it stripped the paint off the front of my car!”
Is the protocol similar for business owners?
“Yes. If you’re insuring the building as a business owner, you have wind coverage for that building and damage which might occur. Turn that in to your insurance company. You may have an even larger loss for business interruption because you could not get out and provide the services that your business or business provides because of damage. Many policies have coverage for that.”
When it comes to personal property, how do fallen trees particularly come into factor? Is that your responsibility?
“It can be, and that’s another reason to get in touch with your insurance company. They’ll work with you on if that incident was really your fault and help you if it’s covered under the contract. They could also pay to remove the tree, but that will depend on the contract as to what happened with the tree.”
Do you get insurance after a power outage?
“Many insurance homeowner’s policies have a coverage for spoilage. If your power isn’t restored for a day or two, you are likely to lose your food in your refrigerator and or freezer. If this happens, check with your insurance agency and find out if you have some spoilage coverage for all the items that you’ve lost. It could amount to a very expensive loss, especially with the high rate of food right now.
How long does it take to see reimbursement from the insurance company?
“The adjuster will give you some ideas of that. I can’t say it’s going to be this long or that long, but that’s why the adjuster gets in place. They may want to see the damage or they may just ask to send receipts. It just depends on how complicated the loss was, but it’s pretty quick. Most of the companies are very responsive.”
If you have damages, and another intense storm system is on its way, how can you prepare?
“Batten down the hatches. Make sure that all secured doors are closed and checked. Also, make sure that your windows are secured because you’re also going to get the dust coming in there, too. You need to also be careful when you’re opening your car doors. That wind will grab that in a second and you’ll end up damaging that car next to you. Be aware as to what that wind is going to cause, especially an event that you may not have anticipated.”
To learn more about Berger Briggs, visit their website here.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.