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Summer isn't even officially here yet - and won't be for another few weeks - but nonetheless, many home insurance companies are already being inundated with claims from homeowners who say their properties were damaged in major storms that have hit the Midwest. That may put many firms back on their heels a little bit in terms of deploying the manpower needed to properly assess these claims, and as such, it may be incumbent upon insurance agents to do all they can to keep affected customers satisfied.

A number of major home insurance companies have descended on Nebraska already this year to handle thousands of claims each in recent days, as a result of massive hail storms that swept through the state last week, according to a report from the Lincoln Journal Star. Many also have to deal with substantial numbers of auto insurance claims, ranging from the high triple digits to mid-thousands.

What should affected homeowners do?
The fact of the matter is that despite many insurance companies having deployed additional staff levels in recent days to help deal with the influx of work, they might not be able to get to all homeowners in as timely a manner as possible, so they could benefit from doing some work to protect their homes while they wait for help, the report said. This includes checking all surfaces that might have been damaged by the hail - roof, siding, awnings, windows, etc. - before covering them and reporting them to their insurance companies as soon as possible. This should also go for their family vehicles. And, due to the high volume of claims being made in the wake of such incidents, it might be wise for owners to keep in mind that they should have all their account information on hand to expedite the process.

Insurance agents who want to better connect with their clients may think that finding them lower prices on their coverage is the best way to do it, but recent studies indicate that consumers are actually more likely to start shopping around if they don't like their service, rather than what they pay for their plans. Therefore, taking the time to improve these relationships may go a longer way than working hard to create the tiniest wiggle room in terms of pricing.

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