COLORADO SPRINGS — Communities across southern Colorado continue the clean up and repair efforts in the wake of Wednesday's massive wind storm. News5 looks into how insurance issues will factor into the recovery effort.
Property owners across town are still trying to sort out how they should deal with damage caused by those winds and falling trees.
"There are a lot of calls coming into all the agencies right now," said local insurance expert Trey Whitlock who now works with the Goosehead Agency.
Insurance experts say they are fielding a ton of questions right now. One of the most common questions is what if it was my neighbor's tree that fell on my property causing damages?
"If a healthy tree falls over in a storm it's an act of God. Nobody is actually responsible for that. It's nature. So, when you are talking with your agent you can go over the details of that, but typically the neighbor is not going to be responsible for the tree coming down," said Whitlock. "There could be some liability if it actually lands on something, but typically it's going to be your policy that's taking care of your stuff."
Even if you escaped the storm without damage there's a good chance you could end up paying higher insurance rates if damage estimates come in at a high dollar amount.
"So in the State of Colorado a windstorm here could affect the rates everywhere depending on what the cost of that storm is. Denver had a hail storm I believe in 2016 and it affected all of us. So, just because you don't have damage doesn't mean it's not going to affect your rate," said Whitlock.
Insurance adjusters and insurance agency teams are on the ground right now in Colorado Springs making damage assessments. Experts say we should have a better idea of the overall damage cost estimates in the next couple of weeks.
As those insurance checks come in with money to make repairs, we want to remind you not to give that money to just anyone. It is very common for scammers to show up after a storm and take money without doing the work. Check reviews, references and do your research before you hire that next company to do the work.
