In disaster’s wake, insurance adjusters must move quickly

Citizens' Voice, The (Wilkes-Barre, PA)

June 16--WILKES-BARRE TWP. -- Jay Kittrick came to survey the tornado damage Friday, but he wasn't looking as intently as usual. An independent insurance adjuster who has been dispatched to natural disasters around the country, he came to the township as a civilian.

Seeing demolition equipment surrounding the mangled U-Haul and Kurlancheek Furniture buildings on Mundy Street, Kittrick noted any insurance adjusters would have minimal time to make assessments if any.

"They get the call out and hopefully the police let them go in. A lot of times, they'll start the demolition if the building is substantially damaged. They wont even let them in," the Rice Twp. man said.

It appears officials let people inside the U-Haul and Kurlancheek buildings, two of eight to be demolished as a result of the tornado. Demolition started on the U-Haul facility around 4 p.m. Friday, about 42 hours after the twister.

At least 15 other businesses damaged by the storm are deemed temporarily unsafe.

When surveying damage, adjusters take exterior footprints and then they try to identify construction materials, he said. Other things like loss of business are calculated, he said.

Asked his opinion on the damage, he said: "It looks bad but it could have been a heck of a lot worse. They got real lucky. If it happened an hour earlier, there could have been a lot injuries or fatalities."

Kittrick said the insurance process doesn't move quickly.

"It's a process. It doesn't happen overnight," he said. "Something like this will take a few months until it's all settled."

Contact the writer:

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

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