Insurance Industry Representatives to Visit Storm Damaged Areas in Ohio

On August 19, representatives from the Ohio Department of Insurance, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the Better Business Bureau, the Ohio Insurance Institute and members of the insurance industry will be going door-to-door in Marysville, Westerville, Delaware and Newark, Ohio, to warn residents about unscrupulous contractors.

The Ohio Department of Insurance said it is believed that contractors will begin canvassing the above noted areas as the result of the severe storms that occurred on August 3 and 4.

The business and insurance industry representatives will be passing out pamphlets to educate consumers of the various fraud schemes committed by disreputable contractors. All representatives involved with the consumer outreach initiative will be wearing special identification to prove they are a member of the insurance community.

In the wake of damaging storms, such as a hail storm or a tornado, unscrupulous contractors tend to drift state-to-state and prey on desperate people anxious to get their property repaired and lives back in order.

In one instance reported, a consumer unwittingly granted Power of Attorney to their roofing contractor. The roofer then managed to negotiate the insurance transaction and pocket the consumer’s insurance proceeds without doing the work.

Source: Ohio Department of Insurance