Typically, tornado season reaches its peak between the months of March and June, but as we've already seen with February's devastating tornado activity, disaster can strike when you least expect it. Each year, 1,200 tornadoes with wind speeds as high as 300 mph touch down in the U.S. While tornadoes aren't typically as catastrophic as other weather events, they occur much more frequently. Luckily, meteorologists are equipped with radar technology to alert citizens of incoming tornado activity. With the right safety plan in place, residents and small business owners can better protect themselves and their property from injury or loss. For agents and carriers in high-risk areas, it will be critical to have adequate resources and staff members to handle an influx of large claims and to provide insureds with the customer service and support they need in the face of catastrophic loss. Related: Ala. EF-4 tornado tops 170 mph winds, leaves at least 23 dead |

Serving your customers

Greg Hanover, CEO of Liveops, says his team saw huge spikes of call activity during recent major weather-related events, and commented on the situation in Alabama last month, where he says many victims didn't receive an adequate disaster response. Being able to properly serve victims during extreme weather-related events is critical. However, Hanover says many organizations that do their best to support in surge crisis moments, like what we saw with the Alabama tornadoes last month, let their members and customers down because they have a hard time scaling. He offers a solution: hiring 'gig workers' in times of immense claims. "Those that have been quick to embrace new 'gig work' models are able to manage their intake volume and help more of those in need," Hanover says. "We're finding that our customers are starting to proactively strategize around expected weather conditions (big storms, hurricanes), and will ramp up service capacity (i.e., more agents), often increasing workforces by 300-400%." "They seem to have it down to a science," he adds, "and can predict agent forecast needs as a means of managing the influx of calls." Additionally, Hanover notes it's important to also remember that if the average commuter can't get to work because of weather conditions your brick and mortar call center agent can't either, and says he has seen major ramp-up needs in that respect for available and qualified agents. The slideshow above offers ways to adequately prepare for tornado season in an effort to better serve your clients when they need you most. Related: Tornado and severe weather insurance checklist