John Cavanaugh,
Senior Field Claims Representative, with a letter from Bob and Sue Kowalsky of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. Just one of many complimentary letters we received.

At noon on Friday, May 12, 2000, the skies over Manitowoc County in eastern Wisconsin suddenly turned ominously dark, suggesting a common spring thunderstorm was about to hit. With the eye of the storm centered over the small community of St. Nazianz, there was no indication what was about to unfold. What did happen was described by meteorologists as a “super cell storm.” One hundred mile per hour winds, with two and half inch hail, descended upon the village, shredding, denting and shattering everything in its path in less than 12 minutes. Miraculously, no one was killed, although there were several injuries. Many were homeless. Our policyholders alone suffered over $12.6 million dollars in damage. Immediately, we were on the scene setting up temporary claims headquarters and making people whole again as quickly as possible. Many staff members volunteered their weekend time helping to clean up and rebuild St. Nazianz. For months, stories appeared in local papers that highlighted difficulties, disputes and delays by many other insurers who were overwhelmed by the number of claims. However, a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told one of our on-site adjusters, “If this ever happened to me, I’d want you guys insuring me. I’m all over the country and I have yet to see a claims operation that compares to you.”