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Thousands of insurance claims are pouring in to SGI following a storm on Tuesday that hammered parts of Regina with golf ball-sized hail.
“It’s pretty significant, I would say more significant than anything we’ve seen in the past handful of years,” said Michaela Solomon, a spokesperson for the Crown-owned insurance company, in an interview on Thursday.
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Nearly 48 hours after the storm hit, SGI had received around 5,600 vehicle damage claims from the Regina area, with another 100 or so from elsewhere beyond the Queen City.
On top of that, property claims numbered approximately 400.
“That’s a pretty significant number of claims that we’re dealing with, and our claim staff is working very quickly to support our customers as needed,” Solomon said. “However, you can imagine times are a little backed up, and customers can probably expect to wait a little bit longer than that average.”
One of the ways that SGI is hoping to speed up the claims process is with an “appraisal blitz.”
“Customers with claims that meet certain appraisal criteria will be scheduled for an appointment at the blitz event,” Solomon said, adding that the meetings are by appointment only. “These events will help estimate vehicle damage quickly, expedite the claims process while we’re certainly dealing with a bit of a backlog, and support timely service.”
The blitz is scheduled to take place at the Commercial Claims Centre on Fleet Street from June 13-14, and again from June 19-21.
People who have a damage claim can file it by phone, online or in-person. Solomon said if a hail-damaged windshield has rendered a vehicle undriveable, that windshield can be replaced before it’s been appraised.
People are advised to take detailed photos first and save the receipt.
Solomon said while the number of claims is large, SGI’s teams are well-equipped to deal with such an unpredictable and significant storm.
