Who You Gonna Call? Your Insurance Agent!

WBUR Radio Boston Guest:

Tom Skelly, Vice President of Sales and Operations for Deland, Gibson Insurance and the former chair of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents, talks to WBUR Radio Boston about Winter Damage, Ice Dams, and Insurance. Click to listen:

This winter, the hits just keep on coming. Even when it’s not snowing, the toll the blizzards have taken on the region just keeps rising.

Layers of snow has caused more than 120 roofs to collapse- that includes the roof on a wing of the Old South Union Church in Weymouth. In Boston, a snow-covered chimney fell on a parked car. Less dramatic, but still a cause for concern, are leaky roofs that may get worse as the weather gets warmer.

When winter takes its toll on your property – Who you gonna call?

Your insurance agent.

If you have ice dams causing damage to your home, please report the claim to Deland, Gibson or directly to your insurance company. You can find the contact information of your company on your policy and also on our website. As the insurance companies have had an extremely high volume of claims they will send someone out to assess the damage as soon as possible. If you notice any damage, take whatever action is necessary to stop further damages. Proper steps should be taken to keep personal property out of harm’s way. Please take pictures of the area inside and out, and save all receipts.

Under no circumstances should policyholders take any mitigation efforts that may expose them to injury.

Once a covered loss takes place, the “reasonable cost” to remove the ice and snow from the affected area should be considered as part of the claim by your insurance company less your policy deductible.