Downey Insurance Group Blog | Great Insurance People

Downey Insurance Group is fully functional even as our Brattleboro, VT office is currently under water with the many other businesses near Main Street in Brattleboro, Vermont.  The area is experiencing devastation from flooding conditions that have not been seen in nearly a century.   Many of the residents in Vermont were not expecting this magnitude of flooding from hurricane Irene. Rivers and streams flooded quickly forcing people to evacuate without much notice and without many options.   Many of these flooded homes and businesses are without flood insurance which will make recovery difficult for many.   FEMA will be assessing the damage and should be accepting request for Disaster Assistance shortly.

Unlike some of the businesses in the area, it is crucial for Downey Insurance Group to maintain complete functionally during this crisis due to the nature of our business. We are responsible for filing claims for our clients during this difficult time.  We are simultaneously working on our own claim for Downey’s Brattleboro office that is currently still unreachable due to flooding conditions.  We have re-routed our phone lines to our only fully operational location in Keene, NH where we currently have power, internet, and phone.   Our Marlborough, MA office is semi-functional  with power and phone, but no internet.  Thankfully as part of our Emergency Management Plan we have the capacity to handle this type of  situation with lists of phone and fax numbers for our insurance companies and paper claims forms.

Charlie Downey sprang into action this morning by driving up to Brattleboro, VT through the devastation zone to reach out to the community to find a temporary office space to house our Brattleboro, VT during the cleanup.  The rest of our team at Downey Insurance is working feverishly to file claims for our clients and to help the people during their time of need.  The teamwork and quick action of the Downey Insurance Group family have made this all possible.

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The Tornado’s that ravaged parts of Western Massachusetts have caused more damage than was previously expected by officials.  Massachusetts Insurance Claims for insured losses just keep rolling in. Although FEMA has just begun their efforts in MA they are already seeing equally astounding numbers.   You can see my previous post on applying for FEMA relief in MA.

 Viviane Lee from Boston.com said on Saturday – “Insurance claims filed by victims of this month’s tornadoes have risen to $140 million, according to state officials, dwarfing previous estimates and reflecting the devastation after the storms tore through Western Massachusetts June 1.

Victims have come forward with 8,200 claims, Joseph Murphy, commissioner of the Division of Insurance, said Thursday. The damage estimates are expected to swell as nine Federal Emergency Management Agency-operated recovery centers open in the next few days to help residents apply for federal aid.

Initial reports from June 7, more than a week after tornadoes ravaged 19 communities and left three people dead, estimated claims at $90 million just for destruction to homes. Thursday’s figure includes $5 million in commercial property claims and $15 million in auto insurance filings on top of an additional $30 million for residential damage.”

The numbers here are staggering, and the personal stories of the people that have been affected are had to imagine for most of us.  Many organizations have jumped into action to fill the needs of these people, and the local outreach to the affected communities has been tremendous. 

The Patriots Foundation for example is partnering with The Untied Wayto match contributions up to $100,000 for disaster relief!  100% of the funds donated during this drive will be used toward disaster relief efforts in MA.  There is also a Facebook page Western Mass Tornado Relief that is posting news and updates related to the disaster. 

One local Massachusetts mother Tara Barranco has been inspired to start an organization called Munchkin Love to help families with small children after the disaster.  They are collecting items such as diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, and infant medicine for donation.  They are currently distributing the items from their distribution center in Southbridge, MA.  You can find out more information about donating to Munchkin Love on their Facebook Page MunchkinLove.

If you know of any other worthy charitable organizations that are worth mentioning please feel free to post their name and website in the comments area below.

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