We are so fortunate that PICA Board Director Ted Besesparis arranged an extraordinary panel of agents for our workshop. Robert Page, Ritchie Clements and John Faucheux talked with us about their experiences as agents, communication wish lists, dedication to their policyholders and communities after Hurricane Katrina, insurance legislation and what the future holds. Ted moderated the panel, asking thoughtful questions to help guide the dialogue and keep us on track.
Ted asked our agent panel, "What is the biggest misconception people have about Katrina?"
"It's hard to imagine the magnitude. One and a half million people had to evacuate the city, and all the highways dumped into two-lane roads. Most people didn't have a place to go, the means to go and because this happened at the end of the month, many were counting on government checks that were supposed to arrive a few days later," answered Ritchie Clements.
"What did agents face without communication?"
"Gustave destroyed my office. But Katrina destroyed all communication. Smoke signals wouldn't even work because the wind was blowing so hard!" Robert Page explained.
The agents described desperate conditions. Not only had their communities lost their homes and belongings, and in some cases, loved ones, but also, agents were not able to easily do their jobs. Phones and Internet services were not available. In fact, the claims that did start to roll in the first days after Katrina were from residents who had fled the area and reported what they estimated their claims to be as they called from safer grounds. Satellites were operational and texting worked.
Tips for insurance companies that want to provide better service?
• Provide agents with both a local area code phone number and a 1-800 number as a contact number or claims reporting number. In the case of Katrina, access to area code numbers were restored before 1-800 numbers.
• Think about items, like generators, that agents may need to get up and running. If your company offers a storm team service, where your claims people travel to the site to provide support, bringing along generators (that you can later retrieve) can help ease some the basic difficulties agents may have conducting business.
• Plan in advance and work with agents to find out what technology they have, and devise a plan to back up information that works for both carrier and agent. "Carriers need to be prepared. Technology is changing daily. Paper isn't helpful, so agents and carriers have to understand where the other stands on technology. And we need better ways to back up information," Clements explained.
• Carriers should consider the "burnout factor" for both agents and claims representatives who are on the front lines during disasters. "You listen to every story and provide comfort. You let people know 'someone will help you.' Anyone can sell insurance, but we are the ones facing those who need help," Page explained.
• Plan in advance and help agents consider disaster scenarios. What is the plan B? "Clients have tremendous fear, and all the plans to mobilize and prepare are key. But more, people need reassurance and human contact," Faucheux explained.
Clements explained, "We have a new normal now."The agents joked a little, from the safe place of recollection, about Clements' personal experience with Katrina. "He told us that he only had two feet of water in his home, and we thought, 'great!' And then he told us that the two feet of water were actually on the second floor," Page recalled.
One of the most inspiring aspects of listening to the agency panel is how everyone banded together to help not just claimants, but community members and each other. And to somehow stay positive and productive all the while.
"Our area didn't have Internet or phone lines restored until April. I worked out of the Department of Insurance and then a friend's agency. I ended up working out of an 8' x 20' trailer from Thanksgiving of 2005 until April of 2006," Clements recalled.
"People didn't know who their carriers were, so we helped everyone by letting them use dedicated computers and phone lines to report losses," Page described. His wife, an ER nurse, volunteered at an EVAC shelter to help out. "Every hotel was full," so Page surveyed other agents he knew, and through motor homes, campgrounds and houses, they were able to invite adjusters to stay.
"People returned not knowing that there were no resources. Many people came back thinking, 'the storm is over, I can go home,' as they have so many times. We always hear, 'there's a big storm coming,' and cries of wolf. Hurricane Katrina was no different," Faucheux said.
"We're dealing with uncertainty, fear, death and devastation," Page explained, emphasizing the partnership between carrier and agent, "Good insurance companies step in where agencies alone may fail."
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