I thought I would share with you the chain of events that occurred before, during and after these dates within our agency—Van Dyk Group—and the challenges we faced as a multi-faceted insurance and real estate agency.

Related: Read another column by Jeffrey R. Wyrsch "Go Above and Beyond."

The probability that Irene was going to directly affect the Jersey Shore and Long Beach Island (a barrier island) where one of our offices is located became reality on Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 23 and 24.

Our real estate division handles several thousand renters in a summer season and we insure most of the properties they occupy. We had to prepare all of the tenants already here, the tenants checking in on Saturday, and all of the landlords to start making plans to evacuate the island and secure their properties. Likewise, we had to set in motion a plan to secure our office and set up the contingency plan in place to service our customers when they need us most.

Fortunately, we have two other offices in the surrounding mainland communities with computer access to our customer base so communication did not have to be interrupted. We also had the peace of mind of having disaster planning in place with Agility Recovery Solutions in case we lost our facilities, power or both. Our computer system can also be accessed from any PC with coded access.

Our insurance staff spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday calling, emailing and fielding phone calls from our insurance customers/landlords/business owners about securing their properties and verifying coverage. We averaged 100 to 200 calls a day from customers looking to raise limits on their policies, lower deductibles and buy flood insurance. It is still surprising how many homeowners and business owners do not carry flood insurance for their properties located on a barrier island, despite the notices and disclaimers they receive. But in this case, it’s too late to get flood coverage with the mandatory 30-day waiting period in place for NFIP policies.

Because most of our homeowner policies are written through excess and surplus lines markets, they are all agency billed. We took special care to call each customer who had not yet submitted payments for their renewals and ensure that money was received and a policy bound before Irene hit.

Our real estate division visited the properties occupied by summer tenants and prepared them for possible evacuation of the island—something that is never well received when people are on vacation. We had to discuss plans bout leaving the premises, returning when permitted, and what amount of rent would be reimbursed.

The evacuation was indeed mandated on Friday, Aug. 26, and everyone, including us, had to leave by early afternoon. We spent the rest of Thursday and Friday helping tenants evacuate and helping our homeowners secure their properties. It is very helpful to have an up-to-date list of contractors and handyman services to perform these tasks. We had contacted several during the week to make sure we could help the homeowners.

Irene did not actually come ashore until Saturday evening, but our insureds did not stop calling to help them weather the storm. Having a disaster plan in place to help your insurance customers when they need you most is critical.

Related: Read the article by Jeffrey R. Wyrsch "Understand Gen Y."

This is the main message we put out to all of our fellow agents. Without these plans in place, we could not have assisted so many people in a 2- to 3-day period. Unlike the tornados and earthquakes that so many experienced over the summer where there is not any warning to prepare, we had a plan in place and the time needed to execute the plan.

Of course, the numbers of phone calls and issues to be handled do not end when the storm passes. This is when the real fun begins and is the critical time for an agency to be ready. Communication is the key and having open phone lines and internet access is paramount.

The first wave of requests on Sunday and Monday were along the lines of, "Did the island survive?", "Please check my property," "Call me back ASAP," and "Can we gain access to the island?" Just by having the staff available to answer the calls and give some reassurance goes a long way to allaying people’s concern.

As soon as the authorities allowed us to re-enter the island, some of the staff moved to check properties for damage while others fielded calls, or updated homeowners. We emphasized to our staff to be empathetic with all callers as they feel helpless not knowing what happened to their properties.

While we did have hundreds of claims reported over a 3- to 4-day span, there were not any catastrophic losses in our immediate area. Because the area impacted by Irene did cover a five-state area and a lot of the claims ended up being flood related, there was and continues to be a shortage of FEMA-certified inspectors. Whether an insured’s claim is large or small, he or she wants an immediate response and a timely settlement of his or her loss.

Here is where a briefing to all available personnel plays a major role. We try to give the same message across the board to all of our homeowners and business owners:

1. Secure your property
2. Clean up what you can
3. Document all action taken
4. Take as many pictures as possible
5. Contact repair/restoration contractors
6. Get estimates from two or three contractors.

Overall, the response from all of our insurance companies has been outstanding. There always will be outstanding claims lingering on when a storm affecting such a large area occurs, but it goes a long way to communicate often with all claimants to keep them up to date. It’s better that you’re calling them rather than them calling you. We have an agency policy to contact every claimant weekly to give them an update even if there is nothing new to report. The customer really appreciates this.

Related: Read another article "Take Care of Clients" by Jeffrey R. Wyrsch.

Most problems and unusual situations we have faced since Irene have to do with loss of rents/loss of business income; not from damage of property from a covered peril, but as a result of civil action—the mandatory evacuation of the area. A lot of these problems still remain unresolved but may be a topic for a future article.

A lot of this may seem like Insurance 101, but we can all learn from every storm we have to weather.

From our point of view, it is the preparation for these types of events before they occur and the amount of communication you give that will help you and your customers in weathering a storm.