MERRILL (WAOW) -
A North-Central
Wisconsin insurance company is getting flooded with claims, in the
aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
Leaders at Church Mutual Insurance
in Merrill say the number of claims is growing every day, and it's expected to
continue to climb.
Church Mutual Insurance is based in Central Wisconsin, but handles claims across the country.
Right now, the company is processing
550 claims, while recovery on the east coast is still far from over.
Superstorm Sandy ripped through the
east coast -- less than two weeks ago--killing more than 100 Americans and
leaving close to 8.5 million without power.
"This was a
terrible tragedy for the people on the east coast," Chuch Mutual Vice
President of Claims Brian Arndorfer said.
Now, a Merrill-based
insurance company is one of many helping to pick up the pieces.
"During the first
week of the storm, about 100 claims a day were being reported, for the first
four days last week," Arndorfer told Newsline 9.
But now, Arndorfer says
the company is handling more than 500 claims, involving churches hit by Sandy--and there's still
a lot of work to do.
"Cell phone
coverage is bad, if at all. So they're having trouble getting in contact with
our insured to make an appointment to get out and see the damage," Church
Mutual National Catastrophe Coordinator Dale Zimdars said.
It's been two weeks
since Sandy, but
Church Mutual leaders say there's usually a delay between a natural disaster
and filing a claim.
"People tend to
take care of their personal safety first. Second in rank--taking care of home
and residence. And after all of that is managed, then they turn to church
property," Arndorfer said.
That's why they say it
could still be a while before they know how many claims church mutual will have
to process.
"Generally, it
takes about two weeks. I'm expecting it to take two months. Only because of all
the issues we're dealing with up there," Zimdars added.
Church Mutual Leaders say there have
been no reports of churches being destroyed -- just damaged. But they estimate Superstorm
Sandy will rack up more than $10 million in claims for their company.
