Tens of thousands of insurance claims draws army of adjusters to city [The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City]

May 26--In his 27 years in the insurance business, Dave Dolezal can't recall a hailstorm that damaged more property than the one that pounded Oklahoma City last week.

"It's been a long time since I've seen hail this bad," Dolezal said Tuesday.

Estimates of insured losses still are being compiled, although insurance experts expect the hailstorm will be more expensive than the deadly tornadoes that hit parts of Oklahoma on May 10.

"That's what the claims count seems to be showing," said John Lucido, Farmers Insurance Group executive director for Oklahoma. "The property and auto claims from the hail are higher than from the tornadoes."

Farmers has deployed about 235 adjusters to the Oklahoma City area to deal with thousands of claims, Lucido said.

Jerry Johns, president of Southwest Insurance Information Service, earlier estimated that insured losses from the May 10 tornadoes would be in the "tens of millions of dollars." Johns said Tuesday that it may be a week before an estimate on hail damage will be available.

One industry insider said the combined storms will produce tens of thousands of insurance claims.

Dolezal, a member of Allstate's catastrophe team, is managing the company's efforts to settle claims related to vehicles damaged and destroyed by last week's hailstorm.

At Allstate's northwest Oklahoma City office, adjusters were settling vehicle claims at the rate of about 20 an hour at four metro sites that are open seven days a week, Dolezal said. Adjusters are visiting homes and business to evaluate other vehicles that are too damaged to drive.

Hundreds of cars have been judged to be total losses by adjusters, he said. Most claims are handled within about 20 minutes, and car owners leave with a check and advice on what to do next, he said.

"Maybe this is good for the car dealers," he said. "It's not good for anybody else."

Allstate spokeswoman Shelly Frost said adjusters dealing with structural damage are visiting the worst-hit homes first, and already have settled a large number of claims.

"We've already looked at unlivable homes," she said. Allstate adjusters are trying to get to damaged houses within 12 days, although some claims are settled in less than a week, Frost said.

To see more of The Oklahoman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsok.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.