State Farm's spokesperson, Shane Allen, discusses the surge in claims following recent severe weather events and provides practical tips on filing a claim if you've been affected by storms.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Well, from Texas to the Midwest, we've seen a trail of damage left by severe weather.
00:06 Whether large or small, you want to make sure you submit your claims to your insurance company.
00:12 Shane Allen, spokesperson from State Farm, joins us to discuss their response and what
00:18 you need to know when severe weather strikes your area.
00:22 And before anybody asks, yes, he does know Jake from State Farm.
00:25 Of course, that was my first question.
00:27 I do want to follow up with some more questions here.
00:30 It's just been round after round of damaging severe storms.
00:33 So how many states have your agents deployed to just since last week?
00:37 Yeah, well, first of all, our hearts go out to anyone who was impacted by those storms
00:41 over the weekend.
00:42 And then you look at what's happening in North Texas, that one-two punch.
00:45 So hopefully those who had damage were able to make those temporary repairs, maybe with
00:49 tarps on their roof to prevent future damage from these storms that are going on.
00:53 That's really important.
00:55 State Farm has a coordinated catastrophe response in Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Oklahoma,
01:01 Illinois, and of course, Texas, also Tennessee.
01:04 And we've got on-site remote customer care centers in Claremore, Oklahoma, and in Rogers,
01:10 Arkansas, where I am right now.
01:12 We have over 19,000 State Farm agents across the country that live and work in a city near
01:17 you.
01:18 So we're always there.
01:19 But customers can always start filing that claim with the State Farm app.
01:23 We've also got thousands of claims representatives ready to take calls at 1-800-SF-CLAIM.
01:30 And what type of claims are you seeing and how many have your agents help process for
01:35 customers?
01:36 That's a really good question.
01:37 You know, most of the claims that we're seeing are for wind and hail, as you can imagine
01:42 from the reports that you've been doing all over the weekend and this morning.
01:46 As of this morning, Tuesday morning, we've received approximately 3,500 home and auto
01:52 claims in Arkansas, 3,000 in Missouri, 1,100 in Kentucky, 630 in Oklahoma, 500 in Illinois,
02:03 500 in Texas, and about 400 in Tennessee.
02:06 Yeah, helpful numbers there to know just what you guys have been dealing with.
02:09 However, our viewers at home that may be in the path of severe weather, whether that's
02:12 today or as we head throughout the rest of the season, what advice do you have for them
02:16 to make sure they stay covered?
02:18 You know, it's been a really busy severe weather season.
02:21 And hurricane season doesn't even officially start until this Saturday.
02:25 I would recommend that folks start to do a home inventory.
02:32 What may seem like a little bit of work on the front end will really help you out if
02:35 you unfortunately find yourself in a situation where you need to replace things that have
02:39 been lost in a storm.
02:40 You can even, you know, take your cell phone and walk around your house and start recording
02:45 things in your rooms and drawers and closets.
02:47 That can really help speed up the claims process should the worst happen.
02:52 And of course, we're already getting reports of damage across North Texas, including the
02:56 Dallas area.
02:57 What tips can you give our viewers watching this morning?
03:01 Stay safe, stay weather aware, listen to the local authorities, the local meteorologists.
03:08 They know what's going on.
03:10 And then as soon as it's safe, call your agent, start taking photos of damage, and let's get
03:15 that claims process started as soon as possible.