Manitoba Public Insurance 2007 Annual Report

Renata Zimmerman, a resident of Dauphin who, with her husband Charles, provided a homemade soup lunch for emergency claims centre staff

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“Making soup for everyone was one way of saying a big thank you for the excellent service we received. After our disaster with the hailstorm, we just couldn’t get over how quickly and how hard everyone worked. We should have made at least one more lunch for them to show our appreciation!” -- Renata Zimmerman

Damaged Vehicle
THE AUGUST 2007 HAILSTORM,
BY THE NUMBERS

8		Estimated duration (hours) of storm

12		Number of communities besides Dauphin where claims were made

14,029		Total claims

$3,900		Approximate average paid per claim

5,331		Number of vehicles written off

$52.1 million		Total losses incurred, including claims and emergency hail centre operating costs

$10 million		Total losses incurred, including claims and emergency hail centre operating costs, after reinsurance recover

LENDING A HAND after the storm

When disaster struck Dauphin in August 2007, Manitoba Public Insurance moved quickly to help customers pick up the pieces. Staff mobilized into the community and set up an emergency claims centre to serve thousands of Manitobans when they needed it most.

Nearly 400 estimates daily

In the weeks following the hailstorm, close to 50 staff members from Winnipeg and other areas of the province worked 12-hour days, seven days a week, to make sure the people of Dauphin were well looked after.

The community had experienced one of the single biggest catastrophic events in the corporation’s history, with more than 14,000 total claims exceeding $52 million in damages and expenses.

The town’s Rotary Arena became a makeshift claims centre and a hub of activity as staff processed an average of 400 claims a day.

Although the 1996 hailstorm that roared through Winnipeg caused more damage (some 24,000 claims totalling $53 million), this was the first time the corporation temporarily relocated such a large number of staff in order to reach out to a smaller community.

Damage in Dauphin was severe. Write-offs after an average hailstorm typically run about 25 per cent. After the Dauphin storm they were 40 per cent.

Joining hands with the community

At 7 p.m. on that fateful night, Jeff Sass and his family were enjoying sundaes on their back porch under a sunny blue sky. Within an hour, the Parkland regional manager knew the rest of his summer was going to be much different.

“The sky went dark and then just opened up,” Sass says. “It was the biggest hailstorm I’ve ever seen – by far.”

Many of the hailstones that came down that night were the size of golf balls. Several were even as big as small potatoes.

“The first morning we started taking claims at the Rotary Arena, there were 100 vehicles in line at 6 a.m. waiting to get in,” Sass says. “In three weeks, we did 4,500 estimates…I’m just amazed at what we did.”

So were the people of Dauphin. Renata Zimmerman, 77, and her husband Charles, 82, were so impressed with the corporation’s response to the hailstorm – and so concerned about staff at the temporary claims centre in Dauphin – that they made a couple of large pots of chicken soup, and then served it up to Jeff and his team.

Potato, hailstone, golf ball

Many of the hailstones that came down that night were the size of golf balls.
Several approached the size of small potatoes.

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