OMI adjuster
helps policyholder deal with other insurance company
Our Oregon Mutual insureds had almost lost faith in insurance.
The insurer for the person who hit our insured in the intersection
was not returning phone calls and now she found out they
were trying to avoid paying what they owed. Their reason for not
paying is that they did not have her version of the accident, even
though she had tried to call them back to give it to them.
She didn't understand. She had to have wondered...
"Do all insurance companies operate like this?"
Thanks to John, Adjuster I/Subrogation Specialist
in McMinnville, she found out there is at least one insurance
company that does not operate like that - Oregon Mutual!
Besides quickly arranging for the insured's vehicle to
be repaired using their collision coverage, John explained to
the insured, in simple understandable terms, her options
and the process to get her car repaired. He also explained
how to get the other company to pay for her deductible
and also pay OMI back. John went the extra mile and sent a
very "reader friendly" letter that, once again, explained her
options and what he would try to do for her in a simple and
clear way. The result was a positive outcome for the insured
and a happy customer. The customer stated in the last line
of her letter to OMI, "...our faith is restored!"
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Fast claims
service aids in pending sale of a home
Oregon Mutual insureds Peter and Georgia were days away
from closing on the sale of their home and looking forward to
moving into a new home. Then it happened. Through no fault
of their own, a fire caused extensive damage to their home.
Aside from the shock and disruption to their lives caused
by the fire, one of their first worries was,
"Will this fire affect the pending sale of our home?"
The insureds called their agent to report the loss and they
were assured that Oregon Mutual would take good care of
them. The loss was assigned to Adjuster Jeff, who immediately
called the insureds to assure them and answer their initial
questions. Jeff assured them he would do whatever he
could to save the sale of their home. The insureds' policy did
not require Oregon Mutual to work to save the sale. Jeff
simply listened to the insureds and understood how important
this sale was to them. Jeff talked several times with the
insureds and their contractor to ensure that both the insureds
and the new buyers had input on the repairs. As a result, both
the insureds and the new buyers were extremely impressed
and happy with the way the claim was handled. The sale
went through and the new buyers were so impressed they
selected Oregon Mutual as their new insurance company!
Peter also asked Jeff for some business cards to pass out to
friends and neighbors because they also were impressed and
wanted information about who the insurer was. Back To Top
Adjuster follows
up on promise for stressed policyholder
Dennis, Eugene Claim Manager, recently handled a claim
in which our policyholder, an eighty-one year old widow living
alone on the Oregon coast sustained flood damage to her car.
As one could imagine, losing her car was a nerve-wracking,
stressful ordeal as she relied heavily on this transportation in
her daily life. After the loss, the policyholder called her daughter in
Olympia, Washington to help her through the claim process.
Dennis went the extra mile by taking the time to understand
the situation and how stressful this was for the policyholder.
He communicated clearly and often about the process and then
did what he said he would do for both the policyholder and her
daughter. He followed up on his promises.
The policyholder and her daughter were very pleased with
the entire process and the way Dennis treated them. Here are
some of their comments:
Dennis was so understanding with my predicament
of how to get the claim processed. He returned phone calls
promptly, answered all my inquiries, and was very sympathetic
for me having to handle things for my mother living
out of state."
He explained things very thoroughly to
me and went over the process of how things would turn out
from start to finish."
I have never had to file a car claim, nor
has my mother, but we have heard horror stories and I fully
expected to have that happen. To my surprise it was just the
opposite...my grateful thanks for all your help."
Dennis, you are in the right line of work
and the company should be proud to have you on board
representing them to their customers."
The insureds, owners of a very nice hotel in Cannon Beach
on the Oregon coast, were gearing up for a busy upcoming
weekend and all ten of their rooms were booked for those
two days. On Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m. a fire caused
extensive smoke damage throughout the hotel. They did not
want to cancel the weekend reservations and had nowhere
else to place the guests who were to arrive in two days. By 9 a.m.
Terry had the new loss report and was immediately on the
phone with the manager of the hotel. She listened to the manager
and quickly realized she needed to move fast to save the weekend
for the insureds. She rearranged her schedule so she could drive
over to Cannon Beach to investigate and inspect the damage
later that day. She also assured them that she would do everything
she could to help and then did just that. She immediately called
a cleaning company she deals with regularly (and trusts) in
Portland and impressed upon them the urgency of the situation.
They quickly assembled a crew who arrived later that day and
began to clean. When she arrived in Cannon Beach (at 5:15 p.m.
that same day!) the cleaning company was still at work and
had made good progress. Although Terry did not get home until
9 p.m. that night, she felt good that the insured was taken
care of. The cleaning crew stayed in Cannon Beach until Friday
and had the hotel cleaned before the 3 p.m. check in so the
guests could stay as planned. The manager of the hotel was
extremely pleased and appreciated very much Terry's efforts
to get it handled so they did not lose their bookings.
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Our insureds had a large water damage claim in which
their home was severely damaged. Due to the size and nature
of the claim, the insureds' lives and daily routines were significantly
disrupted. What made matters worse for them was that the
husband had some health issues at that time and was in the
hospital for much of the time this claim was being handled.
After the claim was resolved and the insureds were back in
their home, they wrote a letter expressing their satisfaction
with how the claim was handled. What made a big impression
with the insureds was that Neil, the Claim Manager, made them
feel he was listening to their needs and showed empathy for
their situation. As the wife said in the letter, "...we truly
appreciated your genuine concern, prompt attention, and special
considerations which you made for us during this most difficult
time of stress..." and "...we feel so blessed with
the way that this claim was handled by the insurance company
and for your special attention to our needs..."
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The claim was reported as water damage to an upstairs
bathroom in the insured home. When Neil met with our
83-year-old policyholder at her home, he found extensive
damage and a very stressed and nervous elderly woman.
The home was 70 years old and our insured was concerned
about the work that may be required to the home in which she
had lived virtually her entire life. She was going to need to
move out of the home while some of the repairs were completed.
Her daughter and son-in-Iaw lived in another state and Neil quickly
realized how much the policyholder relied on them for support
and guidance. While still communicating and reassuring the
policyholder, Neil discussed and coordinated the details of this
extensive claim, including the temporary move-out, with the
daughter and son-in-law.
After repairs were completed, the daughter sent a letter to Neil that says it best:
"All I ever heard from Mom was how kind you were in
her dealings with her but now I have first-hand experience
of your extreme thoughtfulness. In what was a very emotional
and challenging experience for us all, you dealt with us
throughout in not only a professional manner but showed
great compassion and concern. It was so difficult to move
Mom out of the house when the damage occurred but it
was made easier by your manner. What proved to be a
very long and involved process certainly strained our nerves
but you never exhibited any impatience. This has meant so
much to my family. If you treat everyone with the care and
concern you did us, I am sure you will not only be successful,
but will have a very rewarding and happy life."
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Jeff, Portland Adjuster II, was recently assigned a large
fire claim in the McMinnville area. Jeff was quickly on the location
with the commercial insured and agent to discuss the loss and
answer questions. He also quickly arranged for a fire/smoke
damage restoration contractor to get out there to assist the
insured in cleaning up the mess. It was a very busy time for
this insured and they needed action right away to get back in
business as soon as possible. The insured was thrilled with the
prompt service Jeff provided and how Jeff answered all his
questions, followed through on what he said he would do, and
generally helped him through the difficult process of getting
his business running again. It just so happens that this
insured knows many people and conducts a great deal of business
with people in the local community. He was so happy with OMI
and Jeff that he could not stop telling everyone about how well
he was being treated. As a result, word spread quickly in the
community about how OMI was taking care of this customer.
Several different OMI employees heard from their friends and
associates that Jeff and OMI were "the best" and OMI and
agent Hagan HamiIton were even mentioned in an article in the
local newspaper. In that article the insured stated OMI
"...responded quickly and delivered on their promises...
they put us on the fast track to get up and running again."
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