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State Farm has more than 16,000 homeowner claims from Gustav
By Michelle Koetters
mkoetters@pantagraph.com
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BLOOMINGTON -- Hurricane-damage claims are pouring in for State Farm Insurance Cos. The Bloomington-based insurer has received more than 16,000 homeowner claims since Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana on Monday, said spokesman Jeff McCollum.

Policyholders have reported damage from wind, hail, water and sewer and drain back up.

State Farm also has received 1,700 automobile claims, McCollum said.

Six of the company’s catastrophe response vehicles have moved into the Louisiana communities of Baton Rouge, Morgan City, New Iberia, Alexandria, Houma and Lafayette, McCollum said.

The seventh vehicle State Farm deployed to the area headed to Atlanta, Ga., on Thursday in case Tropical Storm Hanna causes damage in South Carolina this weekend, McCollum said. State Farm also continues to monitor the path of Hurricane Ike, he said.

Also in Louisiana, claim operation sites have been set up in Baton Rouge, La., and Biloxi, Miss. Auto claim sites have been established in several Mississippi towns.

Damage is bad but not at the level of Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast three years ago, McCollum said. The claims process is going smoothly as power is coming back online and some phone lines are working, he said. Some claims even are closed already, he said.

As a result of 2005 hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, State Farm had 295,000 homeowner claims and 99,000 auto claims for a total payout of $3.6 billion. State Farm is the largest home and auto insurer in the Gulf Coast region.

Take a look
State Farm Insurance Cos. volunteers load seven mobile catastrophe vehicles Sept. 1 as they prepare to help with expected damage from Hurricane Gustav. (Pantagraph file photo/LORI ANN COOK)
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Reader comments on this story - 3 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

cards1 wrote on Sep 5, 2008 7:04 PM:

" Did you people even know that SF paid 98% of the claims after Katrina, but all that you ever hear about is the 2%. "

Generation Bleach wrote on Sep 5, 2008 4:32 PM:

" Well since SF is no longer writing home policies in the gulf coast region, I am sure they are canceling those that are left after their claim is paid, these numbers should continue to go down. "

T wrote on Sep 5, 2008 8:37 AM:

" Next you'll be reading about all the denied claims "
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