Hailstorm hits Hannibal

The phones at the insurance agencies were ringing off the hook Tuesday after Hannibal was hit with a hail storm that caused many cars to need some bodywork.
Within three hours of the storm, which ended about 12:45 p.m., a local State Farm Insurance agent received more than 50 claims on vehicles alone, and a Shelter Insurance office received about 25 claims. Both companies expected to have several more claims, once people got off work and looked at their cars.
So what should people do when they get hail damage on their vehicle? While the insurance companies agreed that incidents need to be reported to the insurance company whenever a damage occurs, there were mixed opinions about when to make a report.
According to Dave Nason of Fohey Nason Insurance Agency, which received five claims during that time - all from downtown Hannibal - one of the things that a person can do is get an estimate from an auto shop to assess the cost of the repairs. He said this should make things run smoother for the insurance company and helps keep the system unclogged.
Eddie Jackson of Shelter Insurance disagrees. Due to the number of repairs automotive shops will be making to vehicles following Tuesday’s storm, he recommends that vehicle owners do not go directly to the shop to get estimates.
He recommends that vehicle owners contact their insurance companies as soon as possible because of the increasing number of claims expected to be made following the storm.