Car rental companies in the St. Louis region also took a hit, according to the Associated Press. With hail the size of softballs, Enterprise Rent-A-Car suffered severe damage to its rental automobiles and is currently transporting more than 1,000 vehicles to replace the damaged ones. This business is also relying on other states to provide extra vehicles. While rental companies rely on cars from out of state, repair shops are also bringing in professionals from other states to help fix the damaged vehicles.

Out of all the damaged automobiles from Rent-A-Car, approximately 800 of these were impacted by hail at Lambert Airport. Avis also had more than 300 rented vehicles impaired at the airport. While some previous customer reservations at Avis are being honored, the majority of drivers are being put on waiting lists.

St. Louis also experienced the death of one man and injuries to dozens when a large party tent collapsed due to the same severe storm the last weekend of April. St. Louis public safety director Eddie Roth is preparing new regulations that would mandate participants to evacuate a public tent in the event of a weather emergency.

Health insurance companies that are experiencing an influx of claims processing work due to hail storms should speak to independent insurance adjusters.

In mid-April, significant weather-related damage took place as several central states experienced a torrent of hail, wind and tornado damage. More than 90 tornadoes touched down in three days, according to the Claims Journal.

An EF-3 tornado touched down near Wichita, Kansas and impaired more than 770 homes and a total of 165 businesses. As previously reported in this blog, six people died in Woodward, Oklahoma due to a severe tornado that hit in the middle of April. Southwest Iowa also received a fair amount of damage because of tornadoes. In Texas, 21 tornadoes and an overabundance of hail caused damage to more than 1,100 homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro region.

"The U.S. tornado season started early this year, with twisters already blamed for 62 deaths in 2012 in the Midwest and South, raising concerns that this year would be a repeat of 2011, the deadliest tornado year in nearly a century," Steve Olafson wrote in an April 15 article for Reuters.

Initially, total insured losses were estimated to reach hundreds of millions of dollars, but, today, the losses are set at around $1 billion. Some insurers were supplied with more than 105,000 claims with payouts exceeding $650 million.

Tornadoes and other natural disasters cause an increase of claims administration for insurance companies and outsourcing claims processing may be the best option for such businesses.

However, Congress is slow to take action on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which expires at the end of the month. This is clearly dangerous as hurricane season is looming ahead.

According to Reuters, federal officials are urging Congress to take the next step in regards to the NFIP. This program has been on the back burner for the last several years partially because it took a heavy toll financially during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Advocates call for reforming the program and putting it back to handling flood-related claims. However, the program's debts have kept legislation from going forward. 

"The current NFIP is broken and, without real reform, our communities will be far less safe, our environment will be threatened, and the program will remain billions of dollars in debt to U.S. taxpayers," an insurance industry group told the news source in a statement.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency warns of the consequences if NFIP closes down. When this happens, property owners will not be able to finish their mortgage transactions, according to Dave Miller, associate administrator of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, the FEMA division in charge of the program.

If NFIP shuts down, these homeowners will be violating a law because homes in designated flood-risk regions must have flood insurance before a mortgage is finalized.

Floods cause an abundance of claims for insurance companies. Businesses that are burdened by claims processing should consider outsourcing to claims management companies.

Storm reports began coming in on April 14 at dawn. Because the tornadoes hit in the middle of the night, many people were asleep and unable to heed warning sirens, which may play a role in the greater number of injuries experienced in Oklahoma. Tornadoes were also seen in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.

As previously reported in this blog, six people were killed in Woodward, Oklahoma by a severe tornado on April 14. Two of these people were residents of mobile homes. It was the worst tornado Woodward residents have seen in decades.

"The loss of five lives really hurts us here. It just kind of hopscotched across our city…. It flattened a couple areas… We’re getting things cleaned up already. Our people here have really worked hard," Roscoe Hill, the mayor of Woodward, told the Inquisitr.

Nonetheless, many lives were saved because the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma issued a warning regarding this natural disaster two full days before the tornadoes hit. Such an action rarely happens and this was clearly a vital factor in saving people's lives, according to CBS.

Such warnings can save human lives but not houses or businesses. Claims adjusting services become a necessity in the midst of tornado season. Many homes were damaged to the point of rubble across the Midwest. The New York Daily News reports that hundreds of thousands of people were left without electricity as trees and power lines were impacted in the damage.

Insurance companies experiencing an influx of claims during tornado season should consider implementing claims adjusting services provided by independent adjuster firms.

However, city officials were pleased with the emergency response to this tornado. On March 8, city officials met to assess the damage due to this natural disaster as well as the response of the residents following the tornado.

The news source states that no one was hurt and no looting took place once the tornado passed. However, the Hilton Branson Convention Center experienced significant property damage estimated at a maximum of $1.5 million, according to the Springfield News-Leader. On March 7, a total of 100 employees had to be laid off due to this, but most are expected back after repairs take place.

The month of March was worse for the United States in regards to weather conditions and severe tornadoes. Natural disasters spanned much of the U.S. including the Midwest, South and Southeast regions.

At least 13 states were impacted by these storms. So far in 2012, a total of 49 people died due to tornado activity and 20 of these deaths were in Kentucky.

The Insurance Journal reports that insured losses from these catastrophes will reach between $1 billion and $2 billion as claims administration reaches record highs. EQECAT- a Catastrophe risk modeling company – found that more than 150 tornadoes touched down in the last days of February and early days of March.

Insurance firms experiencing a high amount of claims volume due to the tornado damage of recent months should consider outsourcing claims processing and catastrophe services to claims management companies.

Lafayette, Louisiana experienced damaged roads and water systems with an increased amount of floating wreckage due to a heavy rainstorm on March 12. The damages are estimated at more than $2 million but this cost does not include additional damage of 1,300 homes in the Acadiana region, as reported by The Advocate.

Officials say that the Northern Lafayette Parish endured the most flood-related damage while 850 houses were impacted in Carencro and nearby areas.

While residents clean up their backyards and homes from debris and ruined furniture, authorities state that it may cost as much as $600,000 to hire a contractor to transfer the wreckage.

Federal guidelines for the contracting practices has decelerated the removal of such debris, as there are certain steps that must be taken in order for a town to be reimbursed for repairs by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

According to city-parish president Joey Dural, if the costs aren't reimbursed by FEMA, then private residents will have to shoulder the costs in taxpayer money. No specific deadline for debris removal has been set as of yet.

"We have a serious issue on our hands. I would encourage the administration and the council not to drag their feet on this issue," city-parish councilman Jay Castille told the Associated Press. "You think the hurricane was bad, it wasn't. This is unbelievable."

Castille also cited that representatives from FEMA were in the area assessing the damages from the flood.

Municipalities attempting to handle claims processing for an excess of flood-related claims should consider implementing catastrophe services from independent claims adjusting companies.

Data provided by the Insurance Information Institute on Property Claims Service shows that approximately 133,000 insurance claims were filed in Alabama between April 22 and April 28 of 2011. Insurance providers paid out $2.925 billion as a result.

Over 55 percent of these funds were given to homeowners, renters and condominium owners while businesses obtained 38 percent of the claim payouts. A smaller figure of the total funds – 5 percent or $150 million – was granted to auto insurance policyholders.

"These natural disasters were not only the deadliest in Alabama’s history, they were also the costliest in terms of the property damage and business interruption claims these severe weather events generated," Dr. Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, told the Insurance Journal.

Birmingham, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa experienced the worst tornadoes during this time as compared to the rest of Alabama. Renee Carter, state director of the Montgomery, Alabama Insurance Information Service, told the news source that the whole of the United States has never seen as many tornadoes in one month as the record-breaking 750 tornadoes seen in several states in April of 2011. Carter explains that the insurance industry was a key player in helping Alabama recover financially from these natural disasters.

Along with Alabama, another 12 states – Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Texas and Oklahoma -experienced a total of 343 tornadoes at the end of April 2011.

Insurance companies looking for support during periods of high claims volume should consider outsourcing claims processing to independent claim adjusters that can also provide catastrophe services.

This fall, the return of El Nino could cause more rainfall, which would benefit some farmers suffering from an ongoing dry season in South America. The CPC forecasts either neutral conditions or a return to El Nino weather for the rest of the year.

La Nina – a weather system that brings a dry spell – has been declining since February and will likely be gone by summertime, according to CPC. La Nina causes an irregular cooling of water in the equatorial Pacific while El Nino causes the opposite – an atypical warming of the same waters.

Reuters states that central and southern parts of the United States will likely experience above-average temperatures while below-average temperatures will impact the Northwest this summer. In past years, El Nino produced flooding in Australia and South America while a drought ravaged Southeast Asia.

"Any undue moisture can hamper harvest," said Sterling Smith, an analyst at Country Hedging Inc, a provider of risk management solutions.

Smith told Reuters that there is no need for farmers to worry just yet. Because of new technology, farmers can now harvest their crops in days instead of weeks.

Nonetheless, floods can cause great damage and insurance companies may see an influx of claims during the next few months. To help ease workflow, an insurance provider would be wise to implement claims management services along with catastrophe services by outsourcing to independent claims adjusting companies.

The study "2012 Survey of Agent-Carrier Relationships" by Channel Harvest Research – a joint venture of insurance research between The van Aartrijk Group and Campbell Communications companies – shows that independent agents and customers are purchasing higher-priced insurance due to several reasons. Factors besides price seem to make an impact on insurance procurement, according to the Insurance Journal, which sponsored the survey.

The aspects that matter to customers include proper coverage and specifics that meet their needs. A total of 60 percent of independent agents surveyed cited that these are the major factors influencing insurance selection with their customers. Coverages and add-on features lead customers to buy more expensive insurance, according to the study.

Nonetheless, research shows that 25 percent of independent agents report that customers go with the cheapest insurance 90 percent of the time.

"Companies are so impressed with themselves and their coverage that they have lost touch with the reality that the consumer is looking for the lowest price, period," an anonymous independent agent told the Insurance Journal. "The name, the coverage selection, the service almost make no difference."

However, 33 percent of independent agents claim that their customers choose higher-priced insurance options between 25 and 50 percent of the time. It seems that customer service and brand name also make an impact when customers choose insurance.

Insurance carriers looking to gain more customers by lowering cost can do so by outsourcing claims processing and claims administration to a third-party service during times of high claims volume.

Abnormally hot and dry weather in Kentucky caused firefighters to respond to a large amount of mulch fires. An alarm on April 10 called firefighters to a particular building where the firefighting team found mulch on fire near the office building, according to the Kentucky Enquirer.

Diane Whalen, mayor of Florence, Kentucky, told the news source that similar fires have been reported across Boone County. Some have been caused by tossed cigarettes while other fires were triggered by weather.

In Baltimore, Maryland, arsonists set a church on fire while dry weather conditions and strong wind spread the fire across most of the church. This disaster set off three different alarms and caused a total of $400,000 damage to Pleasant Zion Baptist Church.

On Tuesday, April 10th firefighting crews arrived on the scene in the evening and attempted to stop the engulfing fire. High winds and low humidity spread the fire swiftly across the building. No one was hurt.

In Canterbury, Connecticut, a malfunctioning wood stove caused a fire that destroyed a three-story home from the 1700s. Last week, on Tuesday morning, firefighters from five different departments responded to the fire, but the home on North Canterbury Road was destroyed.

The Bulletin of Norwich reports that an investigation between the local fire department and the state fire marshal office uncovered a malfunctioning connection between the wood stove pipe and the chimney. The four people residing in this home were not hurt and the American Red Cross has offered them assistance with housing and supplies.

Fires cause great damage, which often leads to more claims processing work for insurance companies. For businesses looking for claims outsourcing, the expertise of independent claims adjusting companies could save time and bring benefits like improving loss ratios and profit margins.