Labor Day Home Damage

A Tree Slams Into Your Lake Home On Labor Day, What Do You Do?

“I called an insurance company to get a quote. They gave me one of Oscar Wilde’s best.”
— Jarod Kintz

We got back to our mountain home about 2:09 p.m., we spent the day in Evergreen, and we dined, hiked, and shopped. We had a long weekend; we were tired, so we opted for a Labor Day nap. We slept for About an hour and got up to enjoy our last night “high” before heading down the mountain.

My phone rang, it was a longtime client and friend, he had got a call from his neighbor that the massive tree in front of his neighbor’s lake house had fallen into his home.

He was a little shaken, he had just returned from there, they had received some massive storms, and it sounded pretty bad. I took a couple of notes on my handy paper plate (the best way to take business notes), and I reached out to my staff.

Who Did I Call?

My first call was to my twenty-four hours Indiana based remediation contractor; he answered the phone, I told him it was in Michigan, which was out of their territory.

At this point in the claim process, I’m only trying to get my temporary client repairs. I need to get the tree removed and the roof tarped, I had no photos, I was following the description by my client.

I then Googled construction and the town of the lake home. A national company Service Master popped up; I’ve used them in the past, they picked up the phone on the first ring.

Sometimes it’s just about picking up that phone. The young man on the line listened to my need and said, that is outside my scope, can you call back tomorrow. It’s one thing to answer, but I needed some action. Service Master of Michigan, you need to work on your weekend and holiday response team.

I then did another google search for construction and sorted by Google reviews, I need a quality contractor, and I used Google to help me find my team. I got a hold of a young man, he was busy, didn’t have time, but referred me to his father in law that was an arborist. I called the father in law, and he did not answer. I called the next contractor, he or she also did not answer the phone, keep in mind it’s now about 4:30 p.m. on a holiday.

But on the fourth try, I got a young man by the name of Beau. I don’t know Beau well so that I won’t use his last name, but he was professional, lived about 5 minutes from my claim location and was eager to help. His Google rankings indicated a right partner, so I outlined the claim process and connected him with my client in Indiana.

From Colorado To Indiana

So to recap, I was sitting on the top of a mountain in Colorado, my client was in East Central Indiana, and my new contractor was in Michigan. We coordinated another phone call once Beau had visited the scene. We game planned the next couple of days our process and how we can get our client’s home back the way it was when he last left.

My question to you this morning is “if a tree landed on your seasonal home at 4:30 p.m. on a holiday, how would your insurance agent respond?” Could you get a hold of them, could they get a contractor out that same day within an hour of the occurrence?

My client called me last night and thanked me for the quick action and solution. He’s going to go back up this morning and meet Beau, the claim has been turned into his carrier, and we will work to get this wrapped up as soon as possible.

There is a massive difference in how insurance firms are operated. We don’t claim to save our clients 15% instead offering that at claim time our firm will take care of the situation, no matter the date or time of the incident. I’m proud of our company and the policies and procedures we have in place to take care of our clients.

This is not a sales article; this is a real live example of how our firm works in a unique situation. Make sure your risk management firm would do the same or give us a call and let’s discuss your needs. We answer the phone 25 hours a day, eight days a week and 366 days a year.
“I called an insurance company to get a quote. They gave me one of Oscar Wilde’s best.”
— Jarod Kintz