Just months after Hurricane Ike whipped by Kentucky, the emergency management agency there is reporting the ice storm gripping the area is even more destructive.
Kentucky insurance carriers have taken thousands of claims as a result of this week’s ice storm, and agents said yesterday they expect to hear from more policyholders as power is restored.
State Farm, which insures 22 percent of Kentucky homeowners, expects to handle about 6,000 claims statewide.
Although damage was widespread in Louisville, State Farm spokeswoman Lisa Ripley said the worst was in the Paducah area, which didn’t have full cell phone and landline service as of yesterday.
Some of the larger insurers are setting up mobile response vehicles, and the state Department of Insurance is allowing licensed adjusters in other states to come to Kentucky to speed up the claims process.
“Once power has been restored and people are able to get out and assess the damage, we believe the number of claims will begin to rise,” said spokeswoman Ronda Sloan.
Kentucky Farm Bureau, the state’s second-largest insurer for homeowners after State Farm, already has taken about 2,000 claims, spokesman Greg Kosse said. Continue reading “The ice claims cometh! Kentucky reports more damage from ice than Ike”