In Deep, But Still Floating

Such was the case last month when your chairman, like many of his fellow mid-western agents, was up to his hip-waders in flood waters ravishing the cities of Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and others. Now is the opportunity to sincerely thank my good friend and fellow agent, Eldon Hunsicker, from Ottumwa, Iowa, who filled in during my absence from this column and gave you a rather detailed assessment of what was transpiring as the waters rushed by. I won’t repeat those events this month, but I will speak to the post-flooding activities which are similar to what many of you have dealt with in seasons past when major catastrophes (floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, quakes and wild fires) threatened your insured’s valuable assets.

By the time this message appears in print we will be two months into the event. Already, we are experiencing problems no one thought possible when the floods first occurred. The infrastructure of our highways, cities, sewer systems, water works and public buildings is, in many cases, beyond repair. Insureds’ homes have not just experienced radical destruction—many will not be allowed to be repaired and reoccupied. Unfortunately, many Iowans were without flood insurance. Why? Because human nature dictates that “it won’t happen to me!” Our 100-yearflood residents were sitting nicely only because their financial institutions demanded the coverage. It’s a tough sell in mid-America, especially when you have a product that costs as much, if not more, than the homeowners coverage in place on the property in jeopardy. Add to the dilemma a 500-year event for many folks, outdated and inadequate Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), and huge problems with no loss of use, business interruption and, in many cases, contents coverage. The product isn’t attractive to the insuring public and there’s always that feeling that “the government will take care of me anyway!”

So our insureds turn to FEMA and its huge bureaucracy in search of a solution only to find the paperwork insurmountable, with the rules and regulations governing it to difficult to understand. Add to that frustration the attempts at price gouging from the various vendors willing to clean up the premises, make repairs or provide services and replacement of property and some governmental entities now in conflict over responsibility following the disaster, and it’s not a lazy, hazy, crazy summer in Iowa.

Frustrating at times, but also welcoming at others, is the fact that many of our customers turn to us for advice and counsel when these things occur. Many of our clients have said, “well thanks for the information and suggestions—it’s nice to get straight answers and workable solutions for a change.” Even though we are in the middle in these events, being squeezed from both ends, we play a huge role in defending our customers and their financial well being. I’ll put our operations ahead of the direct writers and the “lizards” of the world anytime—I haven’t seen any cat vans from their home offices floating around Eastern Iowa!

And then there’s the sense of calm you feel in events such as these knowing there is an extremely solid trade association both at the Iowa and national levels to support me. They provide valuable information on a moment’s notice, fight my battles in Congress, provide a great Write Your Own market for flood and other cat losses and continually advocate within and outside our industry on our behalf. Finally, the association enables me to tell our side of the story and remind those not affected by the disaster how those who are appreciate our service.

I may be in deep, but I’m floating—thanks to the Big “I”!

–Bob Fulwider, Chairman