Poolman: Insurance Department Staff Working On Katrina Relief Efforts Posted on 11/18/2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jim Poolman
November 18, 2005
701-328-2440
Bismarck, ND - North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman announced today that his agency sent a staff person to assist in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Kathy Wolf, a Property and Casualty Complaint Investigator who has been with the Department for sixteen years, has spent the past two weeks in Kansas City, Missouri working on a phone bank established at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Headquarters to assist policy holders across the gulf region with their insurance-related questions.
Poolman said, "It has been our pleasure to provide the services and expertise of Kathy Wolf to the folks in the Gulf Region. Kathy has the experience, expertise, and professionalism needed to provide accurate and expeditious service to those affected by the recent hurricanes."
Wolf, who has worked extensively with property and casualty insurance issues, including those related to the Grand Forks flood, said that her experience in Kansas City was gratifying, adding, "Unfortunately, most people don't think about insurance until something bad happens. Knowing that I was helping people put their lives back together gave me a sense of deep satisfaction."
Wolf spent ten days answering phone calls from people displaced all across the country. Most of the people who called in were checking on the details of their homeowners' policy and what sort of coverage they have. Many of these details are important factors in deciding whether or not to rebuild in the hurricane affected areas, which has fiscal and economic implications all across the south.
"Our country has a history of pulling together in times of crisis, Poolman said. "Sending Kathy down to Kansas City is our state's way of continuing that tradition and helping these people get resettled and rebuilding their lives."
