Storm Damage: Who Pays for It?

Four days after the storms that blew through Central Georgia, people continue to clean up and assess the damage to their homes.Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine now estimates the storm caused $125 million of damage across Georgia.People are now finding out how much damage insurance companies will cover, and how much they'll have to pay out of pocket.Linda Newberry spent the last three days clearing trees from her yard."We have a tree down on the garage and it's actually left a hole in the garage," she said.She has State Farm Insurance, and it'll pay to remove the tree from the garage and to make repairs, but not to remove any of the other three trees that fell in her yard."It's already taken me away from my job and I've already lost three days of work," she said.According to John Oxendine, homeowner's insurance will pay to remove a tree from your roof, but not a fallen tree in your yard.Oxendine spent Thursday traveling through the area, assessing damage. He says people in older homes may have expenses they didn't know about."On your homeowner's insurance, you have to get a separate writer to cover building code changes. And because of the age, I suspect a lot of those homes are not up to the modern code and they might run into problems with the insurance when trying to repair the house."Horace Graham still didn't have power Thursday morning. He also didn't have any idea what Allstate would pay to repair damages around his Bloomfield area home. "Immediately, I called them as soon as I could get through on Monday morning, and right now to date I have not talked with my adjuster with reference to the damages."He says he knows agents are busy, but he feels like his wallet and his peace of mind are at their mercy."I feel like I am in a position I need to just wait and see what happens," he said.Newberry says she wishes she could forget how much she'll have to pay out of pocket to repair her yard."I'm sure that by the time we put it back the way it was, it's going to be several thousand dollars," she said.But she says she learned from this experience, and plans to know her insurance policy for next time. "It'll cause me now to take a real close look at my policy and also compare companies."John Oxendine says his office has set up a hotline for people to call if they have questions about their insurance. For more information about homeowners or any other insurance you can call 1-800-656-2298.