Kilgore storm called a catastrophe

When the storm hit Kilgore this past Saturday night, no one expected the amount of hail that pelted the city.

When something like this happens, the next step is damage control and that is what insurance companies had to do.

Harvey McClendon, insurance adjuster in Kilgore representing Travelers Insurance, Hartford Insurance, Kemper Insurance and Safeco Insurance groups said the majority of the damage in Kilgore was due to hail.

"It was mostly residences, some businesses and a couple of auto claims," said McClendon.

Travelers declared Kilgore a catastrophe which simply means Travelers Insurance sent a special team to handle claims more quickly said McClendon.

According to McClendon, besides wind damage, due to trees falling on houses, there was some flooding which caused damage, but the main claims were for roof damage due to the hail.

"We will be processing claims for this one storm for the next six months," McClendon said.

According to McClendon, policy holders should make claims within the next six to nine months.

"Some damage will not be spotted until summer when heat causes roofs to expand and contract," McClendon said. "Some damage is just obvious, like a tree through the roof, but other damage is subtle and takes time or an expert to find."

According to McClendon, this was a normal hail storm.

"If we had gotten golf ball size hail like some areas this could have been an extreme storm with extreme damage," he said.

Policy holders are covered for hail under the windstorm and hail section of their Texas Homeowners Policy said Mc- Clendon.

"If coverage was good at the time of the storm the policy holder does not have to worry about making a claim later on down the road," McClendon said.

Brian Bittick, Farmers Insur- ance agent, said his office has received close to 100 claims. Like McClendon, Bittick said the majority have been for hail and some wind damage.

"Hail damage to vehicles was minimal," Bittick said. "This was just an average hail storm, of average sized hail."

The storm that passed right through the center of Kilgore did hand the city a fair amount of wind and water damage, but Bittick said totaled roofs have been a big-ticket item.

According to Bittick, a claim for a totaled roof can run between $5,000 and $6,000. Claims for other lesser damage would yield a lower figure.

Since Farmers also called this storm a catastrophe storm, inspection is recommended to prevent future damage and is included as part of the claims process.

Bittick said the claims process sometimes takes a while to complete, but is relatively easy to work through.

Policy holders with damage should first contact their agent to file a claim. If the property is uninhabitable, claims should be processed faster.

Once property owners have contacted their agent, the agent should assign an adjuster to inspect the damaged property.

Bittick said it is not uncommon for adjusters to come into Kilgore from Dallas or Houston to assess, especially in a catastrophe storm situation.

Once the assessment has been made, the final figure will depend on the extent of damage and the amount of coverage a property owner has.

Bittick said property owners with extensive damage should try to make the property safe and prevent further damage, but only if these safeguards can be made without further injury.

According to Bittick the most important thing any property owner can know is what kind of coverage is carried on the property and deductible amounts.

"Any policy holder may meet with their agent to discuss this," Bittick said. "It is best to know the coverages, before a catastro-