Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, SportsInsurance Agencies Prepare for Weather-related Claims

As crews continue working to restore power to those who are still in the dark Tuesday, insurance agents are just starting their part of the cleanup process.

Susan Pietrantozzi, a State Farm agent, says that bad roads and power outages also lead to a big influx of insurance claims.

Although many of these issues that come up with the kind of weather we've had this week, Pietrantozzi says that careful planning might help prevent several larger dilemmas.

"You need to be sure that your chimneys are cleaned annually," said Pietrantozi, "and that your stoves or gas logs are in good working condition so you don't run into a bigger disaster than just a snow storm."

Pietrantozzi says that, though she hasn't seen a large number of claims from the recent storm yet, she expects more to come in as power is restored across the area.