Here & Now

Wolf River Communities Deal with Flooding — and Insurance

Frederica Freyberg:
After a week of historic storms across the state, residents near the Wolf River in central Wisconsin were some of the hardest hit with flooding. Some are just beginning to assess the damage after evacuation orders sent them fleeing to higher ground. Beyond bailing out the water, many are calling their insurance companies to find out what damage is or isn’t covered. “Here & Now” reporter Steven Potter has this report from Waupaca County.

Jim Falke:
People were in kind of a panic because this rose faster and more water than we’ve ever seen in our lifetime.

Steven Potter:
When heavy storms struck central Wisconsin late last week, it was far too much for the Wolf River to handle. A long waterway that bends through Waupaca County, many residents near the river, and even some not near the river, quickly found their homes and property underwater. Communities like Fremont, New London and Shiocton were swamped.

Jim Falke:
It’s worse than anybody anticipated.

Steven Potter:
Jim Falke is a village trustee in Fremont.

Jim Falke:
There’s quite a few homes in the area that are severely damaged with waist-deep water. The businesses have all been shut down for a week now.

Steven Potter:
As you can see here in Fremont, much of downtown is flooded still days after. We’ve got water pumps and trucks trying to get this water out. One business owner told me they’re simply trying to move water from one place to another. Resident Yvonne Clemins owns two businesses in Fremont: one downtown and one on the river.

Yvonne Clemins:
Of course, there’s always been some high water, but I don’t think anybody has ever expected to see it this high so.

Steven Potter:
As for her resort on the river, she says she doesn’t know what’s been ruined because it’s so waterlogged she can’t get to it.

Yvonne Clemins:
Honestly, I have no idea. I won’t know until we see the extent of the damage and what needs to be replaced.

Steven Potter:
Aside from cleaning up all the water and the damage, those affected by recent storms also have another challenge: dealing with insurance companies.

Nathan Houdek:
It can be a very difficult time for people, right? You have a storm come through. You realize that your car is damaged, your house is damaged. Maybe your personal belongings are damaged and it can be scary. You know, people don’t necessarily know what to do, where to turn.

Steven Potter:
Nathan Houdek is Wisconsin’s insurance commissioner. His office serves as the state’s insurance industry watchdog.

Nathan Houdek:
We’re here for people who have questions about dealing with their insurance policy, or for people who maybe feel like they’re not being treated fairly.

Steven Potter:
While many residents have never encountered natural disasters before, he strongly recommends keeping good records in the aftermath.

Nathan Houdek:
Before you start cleaning up anything or spending money on any repairs, make sure you document the damage. Take pictures. Create an inventory of anything that’s been damaged.

Steven Potter:
Houdek says people should resist the urge to move too fast during cleanup.

Nathan Houdek:
Before you make any major purchases or throw anything away, you really want to work with the adjuster to make sure that you’re doing everything and complying with what you need to, to make sure that the claim is handled properly.

Steven Potter:
But what if your claim isn’t being handled properly?

Nathan Houdek:
If you feel like your insurance company or the adjuster is not treating you fairly in terms of covering things that you feel like should be covered by your policy, that’s when we encourage people to contact our office to, you know, potentially file a complaint or just to ask questions.

Steven Potter:
Houdek also notes that insurance policies vary widely and can be very different depending on the company and specific coverage. It pays to read the fine print.

Nathan Houdek:
We encourage people to check their insurance coverage regularly to make sure that the coverage they have is appropriate and provides the necessary protection.

Steven Potter:
One very pertinent example of that is like what people in Waupaca County are going through right now.

Nathan Houdek:
If you have damage or you experience a loss from flooding, that typically isn’t covered by a homeowner’s policy.

Steven Potter:
Houdek says that Wisconsin residents who actually have flood insurance are very few and far between.

Nathan Houdek:
Through the National Flood Insurance Program, there’s only about 10,000 policies statewide. And, you know, obviously we’re a state of about 6 million people.

Steven Potter:
But Houdek says flood insurance can be affordable and worth it.

Nathan Houdek:
Even if you’re not in a designated flood plain or in a place where you experience flooding regularly, really you want to consider getting flood insurance because we’re seeing more and more situations where flooding is occurring in places where it really never has before. Even one inch of water can cause as much as $25,000 of damage.

Steven Potter:
Roy Toepke is a lifelong Fremont resident.

Roy Toepke:
I’m going to be 73 shortly and never been anything close to this as far as flooding.

Steven Potter:
He hadn’t been back to his home since evacuation orders were given last Saturday. He doesn’t have flood insurance.

Roy Toepke:
We have an exposed basement that I think may have had some water come in. We’ll find out when we get there. We didn’t really look into flood insurance because technically there’s never been a flood where we’re at, but it might be something we need to look at in the future.

Steven Potter:
Worse than not having flood insurance is not having any insurance at all.

Jim Falke:
There is a lot of people on the river that do not have home — homeowners’ insurance because of the cost or just because — yeah, they just don’t have it.

Yvonne Clemins:
Luckily, we do have flood insurance. We have a call in to them, you know, to start the process. Of course, it takes a while. We also have regular insurance.

Steven Potter:
Those who may have insurance may not have enough or the right kind.

Yvonne Clemins:
But you know, sometimes that doesn’t cover lost wages. So for those folks that have businesses that they rely on for income, it’s going to be hard on those folks.

Steven Potter:
Early estimates on the water damage from last week’s storms in central Wisconsin are already in the millions and continue to climb. And that’s not counting all of the time spent and tears already shed.

Yvonne Clemins:
I think it’s going to be a long haul before we’re able to get it up and going again.

Steven Potter:
Reporting from Fremont, I’m Steven Potter for “Here & Now.”