“Unprecedented” is not a vivid enough word to describe the damage caused by Winter Storms Uri and Viola that struck the U.S. in February. The ice and snow storms hit with a powerful one-two punch that severely impacted homes and businesses across at least 15 states, resulting in widespread damage to homes and businesses.
Uri struck first, starting in the Pacific Northwest and quickly moving into the Southern states, before traveling on to the Midwest and Northeast in the following days. More than 170 million people were placed under various winter weather alerts. The storm paralyzed cities and caused power grids to fail in several states, most notably in Texas, which experienced one of the largest blackout events in history.
Viola struck shortly thereafter, dumping ice and snow on the Southern Plains, the Deep South, and the Eastern states. Again, Texas was hit hard, receiving large amounts of ice and snow. As a result of the combined storms, not only did millions of people in the Lone Star State lose electricity for days in frigid temperatures, but many thousands also went without running water.
Then there was the property damage caused by frozen and burst water pipes in homes and businesses. With Texas shouldering most of the damage, analysts estimate that insured losses will exceed the $19 billion in losses incurred during Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017.
These historic storms highlight the value of having a proven daily managed repair service provider that can deliver catastrophe response when needed. When damages occur, your policyholders aren’t just looking for payments. They are trusting you to help them get their lives back in order as quickly as possible. When you partner with Contractor Connection to deliver a robust managed repair program to your policyholders 24/7/365, you gain access to our catastrophe response services. We are able to mobilize network resources in a timely manner to support handling the thousands of property damage claims that can be overwhelming in the wake of a devastating event.
Here is where Crawford Contractor Connection has insurers covered. Contractor Connection is the largest independently managed network of contractors servicing the insurance industry. With more than 6,000 rigorously vetted contractors in the network, Crawford is the only claims handling company able to deliver a world-class customer experience to your customers from first notice of loss all the way through to finished repair.
Water damage caused by broken pipes is a serious matter. Timing is everything. When performed properly, a rapid emergency response of water mitigation and the complete restorative drying of property can provide a critical service for your policyholder and potentially prevent additional damage and mold.
Contractor Connection offers its clients access to a scalable response to surge events such as Winter Storms Uri and Viola. Working with our clients, we prepare in advance for catastrophes by tracking destructive weather events and mobilizing a national network of contractors in a coordinated response. By forecasting potential volume and coverage needs, Contractor Connection is capable of rapidly placing credentialed contractors where they need to be. We then manage network capacity and timeliness.
The value for insurers includes:
- Contractor resource management and assignment dispatch
- National estimating pricing database ensures fair and reasonable pricing
- Estimate review process ensures properly documented estimate, diagram and photographs
- Time-in-process management to reduce increased catastrophe workload
- Quality assurance program to ensure prompt quality repairs
- Proven high customer satisfaction to support policyholder retention
Weather experts agree that the country will experience similar weather catastrophes in the future. Now is the time to prepare by making Contractor Connection a part of your everyday claims handling process, giving you access to the premier partner in daily and surge claim response. To learn more about our managed repair services, visit www.crawco.com/managed-repair.
