The flood which hit Yorkton Thursday has local insurance businesses inundated with claims.
"Claims are getting reported as quickly as possible," said Jason Farrell a partner with Farrell Agencies Ltd. He said when calls come in everyone in the industry is trying to be "quick to call back, to get in contact with the client."
However, the process for having an adjustor on-site will be slower given the volume of claims in the city, and in other Saskatchewan centres, said Farrell.
Farrell said he is estimating they have received more than 700 claims as of Monday afternoon, and he expects more will flow in.
"This process goes in stages," he said, noting people initially deal with the disaster, then the clean-up, then seek out advice and finally deal with their insurance company.
Mike Hordichuk, manager of Western Financial Group in Yorkton said they were in the office early Friday.
"By noon we'd already taken about 250 calls," he said, noting five staff worked through the day getting back to clients and helping them with answers to questions and claims.
To handle the volume of claims, Hordichuk said various insurance companies are bringing additional adjustors to Yorkton.
"I know Wawanesa has seven adjustors on their way to Yorkton already," he said, "and SGI has extra adjustors on route too."
Since having an adjuster visit may take some time, people are concerned with how to address clean-up, especially in the case of sewer back-up.
Hordichuk said sewer back-ups are an issue, with client reports on one to six feet of water and sewage in homes.
"If any sewer back up is involved the recommendation of Public Health and Safety is to remove all that material from the basement," said Farrell.
Hordichuk said health concerns are real, noting "mold will start in three days." He said he has already seen one basement where black mold was more than three feet up the wall. He said moisture can seep/wick two to three-feet up a wall, and recommended cutting the bottom four-feet away, so it can be patched with a full sheet.
The key in removing material is to document what has been done.
Both Farrell and Hordichuk recommended keeping evidence of what work is done, and what has been removed because of sewer back-up. That can include photographs, or small pieces of carpet or gyproc.Hordichuk said soft goods such as carpet should be photographed and then removed to dispose of.Hard goods, such as oak furniture and appliances should be kept until an adjustor arrives because they can sometimes be cleaned and repaired, added Hordichuk.
"The best advice I can give people, dry it out the best you can, as fast as you can," he said.
