By Nigel Maxwell

Delays expected for processing insurance claims

Jul 21, 2011 | 9:09 AM

Vehicle and property owners in the Lakeland area are assessing the damage following the big storm Monday night.

There are numerous reports of damage — ranging from smashed windows and broken skylights to water damage. It is a real mess and the timing could not be worse.

Saskatchewan Government Insurance is in the middle of a contract dispute with its unionized employees. The employees are in a legal strike position and are currently not working overtime.

“Unfortunately with the job action, we are expecting a bit of a delay in processing the claims but we do have our managers working on the weekends to try and catch us up,” said Kelly Brinkworth, a spokeswoman for SGI.

The storm this week is not the only one on SGI's plate.

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“I believe we have about 500 claims left from the July 3, Regina hail storm. And so then we will get those ones done and then we will have the ones from the most recent hail storm,' Brinkworth said.

She estimates 500 auto claims and 200 property claims have been received so far and anticipates more to come.

There are ways to speed up your claim process — drivers can get their vehicle damage assessed at either an auto body shop or at SGI. The estimate still has to be approved by SGI before the work can be done.

“The quickest way would be to file it online using our auto e-claims service, available on SGI's website. Now once you file your claim, you do have up to two years to have it repaired so you are not (going to) run out of time in that sense,” Brinkworth said.

nmaxwell@panow.com