About 50 people attended a public forum about tornado-related insurance issues Monday at the Clark Pleasant branch of the Johnson County Public Library.
Waylon O’Donnell | Daily Journal
Whiteland residents expressed ongoing insurance issues stemming from a tornado at a public forum Monday.
Around 50 community members gathered at the Clark Pleasant branch of the Johnson County Public Library for a public forum to address concerns and provide information on how to best tackle insurance claim issues. These issues arose in the aftermath of the EF-3 tornado that destroyed and damaged parts of town nearly a year ago on March 31, 2023.
State Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, was expected to attend the event. She was unable to, however, instead being represented by her husband Jimmy Davis, who took notes and documented questions on her behalf.
Johnson County Assessor Mike Watkins told residents about tax relief measures available to those impacted by the tornado. He recommended filling out a state form 137R for disaster relief, which could lead to potential extra tax refunds for the affected residents. The form is a petition for survey and reassessment for real and personal property partially or totally destroyed by disaster, according to the state’s website.
The deadline for submitting the paperwork is Dec. 31. Watkins encouraged residents to supply photos of the damage and copies of insurance claims with the form.
Ronda Ankney, chief deputy commissioner of the Consumer Protection Unit at the Indiana Department of Insurance, urged individuals to file complaints through their consumer complaint portal on their website. Filing a proper complaint is the “best starting point” to get assistance from the office, she said.
“We are here to help in any way we can,” Ankney said. “A lot of times, we need to work hand-in-hand with you and the [insurance] company to try to reach some kind of settlement or resolution to your complaint and to your claims.”
Only one of the forum’s attendees had already filed a complaint with Ankney’s office, she said. Completing a complaint form will allow the office to ensure the insurance companies are complying with their contract of insurance, Ankney said.
“We can make sure that the company is being reasonable, that they are being fair and that they are being responsive,” Ankney said.
Terry Bower, supervisor of the Consumer Services Division for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, also emphasized the importance of filing official complaints.
“Companies will work with us if we have a complaint on file,” Bower said. “Those are on the public record, so they don’t want a ton of complaints against them. We also have contacts at the various companies.”
Only 20 complaints stemming from the storm in Johnson County were filed to the Indiana Department of Insurance, Bower said.
Later in the forum, several residents voiced their frustrations and challenges they had faced after the tornado. These include inadequate payouts by insurance companies, a constant change of claim adjusters and drones sent in lieu of personnel to assess property damage.
“I think a lot of people here feel like they did something wrong,” one resident said. “All we did was live in our house and then here comes this tornado.”
Resident Jim Murray spoke of an issue with his insurance company’s handling of his claim, calling the situation “beyond a travesty.”
“In 65 years of my life, I have never felt as assaulted as I have since [the tornado] happened,” he said.
Murray also complained that his insurance company was only replacing the siding on his house that they deemed damaged instead of replacing all of it. This caused the new siding pieces to look a different shade of blue than the originals, Murray said.
“I’ve got a zebra house now,” he said. “How am I going to sell a zebra house?”
Murray decided to take matters into his own hands after his insurance company offered to pay $4,000 on $100,000 worth of damage. He hired an outside person to fight the insurance company on his behalf.
With help, Murray was able to secure roughly $40,000 that was not initially offered, but Murray still lamented the ordeal because he had to pay someone else to do it.
“I don’t feel like anyone is taking care of me now,” he said. “I paid my premiums in the event of a catastrophic event so I shouldn’t have to do anything other than have them come out here and write me a check so I can put my house back together again. I am still fighting them today.”
Dan Scales, another resident, shared the high costs of rebuilding his house in the aftermath of the tornado, saying that he has maxed his dwelling’s replacement value.
“It is unbelievable how much money it is going to cost to replace my house,” Scales said. “It is going to take two and a half times what I paid for it to replace it.”
Carmen Young, Whiteland’s director of administration, concluded the forum on a positive note by recalling the community’s collaboration in the tornado recovery.
