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Scott Segebarth, right, works to wire his new garage with Gary Sadler, left, of Sadler electric. SegebarthÕs rural Dunkerton home was destroyed May 25 by an EF5 tornado.
JOHN MOLSEED/ Courier Staff Writer
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Filling the gap
By JOHN MOLSEED, Courier Staff Writer
DUNKERTON --- Scott Segebarth squinted into the afternoon sunlight as he watched the work crews in his backyard clear the stumps of trees that once shaded his property.
Since an EF5 tornado ripped through Segebarth's rural Dunkerton farm May 25, he has rebuilt his home and much of his garage, but the tree line won't be as easily restored.
"Buildings can be replaced," he said. "The trees, that's for the next generation to benefit from."
That's not to say his home and garage were easily replaced. As Segebarth worked with Gary Sadler of Sadler Electric to wire his new garage Tuesday evening, Segebarth said the insurance payments he is receiving won't meet his costs to rebuild.
"There's going to be some shortfalls," he said. "Whenever you're wiped out, you're going to have to rebuild it --- every shingle and every nail."
When shingles and nails have each nearly doubled in price since the beginning of the year, costs to rebuild are higher than what many storm and flood victims in the Cedar Valley area are getting to rebuild.
Steel prices have risen along with oil this year. Oil-based products like siding and shingles have gone up along with steel building materials like nails and rebar, area building material distributors said.
"Prices have continued to increase from the beginning of the year," said Jeff Levendusky, general manager of Stetson Building Products in Waterloo.
Vendors that the company works with usually set their material prices at the beginning of the year and leave them at the set price all year, Levendusky said. This year some of his vendors have raised their prices three times in the last six months.
That means higher prices for people picking up the pieces after this year's stormy weather.
"There's only so much price protection you can do before you start passing it down the line," Levendusky said.
Part of Segebarth's frustration is the amount of time it takes insurance companies to process claims. With rapid material and labor cost changes, a claim estimate won't be the same as the actual cost of work, he said.
Some storm victims are waiting for their insurance checks before they begin rebuilding.
"The longer it takes for them to process my claims, the more it's going to cost," Segebarth said.
Many policies have what is called a "hard limit" on replacing buildings and insured items. That limit is the agreed value and cost of replacement for that item.
For example, if a corn crib is insured for $30,000 at the time the policy was written but replacing it costs $45,000, the policyholder would have to pay the difference.
In an event that sparks numerous claims, like the June flood and the May tornado, demand for contractors and building materials go up.
Insurance companies are as helpless as the storm victims on price changes.
"You can't really lock them in," said Scott Bradfield, owner and agent with the Bradfield State Farm agency in Cedar Falls. "We're working in an open market."
People facing fluctuating prices should stay in contact with their insurance agent to try to close the gap between costs and the claim, Bradfield suggested.
"Continue to work with your agent. Do call, do follow up," he said. "Don't worry about bothering us. We want you to get the full benefit of that."
For flood victims, the delay in payments or buyouts has more to do with the National Flood Insurance Program and governmental red tape, Bradfield said.
"I don't think there's an individual on the planet that comprehends the whole (program)," he said.
Bradfield recommends people check their policies to see if they may want to change their coverage or modify any hard limits to meet updated prices.
"While we're thinking about it, let's get in and re-evaluate the whole works," he said.
In Dunkerton, Segebarth is waiting to replace his corn cribs until steel prices come down and the gap between his coverage and the actual cost to replace them narrows.
It may be a while, he said, but they should be back up before the trees grow back.
Contact John Molseed
at (319) 291-1418 or
john.molseed@wcfcourier.com.
Since an EF5 tornado ripped through Segebarth's rural Dunkerton farm May 25, he has rebuilt his home and much of his garage, but the tree line won't be as easily restored.
"Buildings can be replaced," he said. "The trees, that's for the next generation to benefit from."
That's not to say his home and garage were easily replaced. As Segebarth worked with Gary Sadler of Sadler Electric to wire his new garage Tuesday evening, Segebarth said the insurance payments he is receiving won't meet his costs to rebuild.
"There's going to be some shortfalls," he said. "Whenever you're wiped out, you're going to have to rebuild it --- every shingle and every nail."
When shingles and nails have each nearly doubled in price since the beginning of the year, costs to rebuild are higher than what many storm and flood victims in the Cedar Valley area are getting to rebuild.
Steel prices have risen along with oil this year. Oil-based products like siding and shingles have gone up along with steel building materials like nails and rebar, area building material distributors said.
"Prices have continued to increase from the beginning of the year," said Jeff Levendusky, general manager of Stetson Building Products in Waterloo.
Vendors that the company works with usually set their material prices at the beginning of the year and leave them at the set price all year, Levendusky said. This year some of his vendors have raised their prices three times in the last six months.
That means higher prices for people picking up the pieces after this year's stormy weather.
"There's only so much price protection you can do before you start passing it down the line," Levendusky said.
Part of Segebarth's frustration is the amount of time it takes insurance companies to process claims. With rapid material and labor cost changes, a claim estimate won't be the same as the actual cost of work, he said.
Some storm victims are waiting for their insurance checks before they begin rebuilding.
"The longer it takes for them to process my claims, the more it's going to cost," Segebarth said.
Many policies have what is called a "hard limit" on replacing buildings and insured items. That limit is the agreed value and cost of replacement for that item.
For example, if a corn crib is insured for $30,000 at the time the policy was written but replacing it costs $45,000, the policyholder would have to pay the difference.
In an event that sparks numerous claims, like the June flood and the May tornado, demand for contractors and building materials go up.
Insurance companies are as helpless as the storm victims on price changes.
"You can't really lock them in," said Scott Bradfield, owner and agent with the Bradfield State Farm agency in Cedar Falls. "We're working in an open market."
People facing fluctuating prices should stay in contact with their insurance agent to try to close the gap between costs and the claim, Bradfield suggested.
"Continue to work with your agent. Do call, do follow up," he said. "Don't worry about bothering us. We want you to get the full benefit of that."
For flood victims, the delay in payments or buyouts has more to do with the National Flood Insurance Program and governmental red tape, Bradfield said.
"I don't think there's an individual on the planet that comprehends the whole (program)," he said.
Bradfield recommends people check their policies to see if they may want to change their coverage or modify any hard limits to meet updated prices.
"While we're thinking about it, let's get in and re-evaluate the whole works," he said.
In Dunkerton, Segebarth is waiting to replace his corn cribs until steel prices come down and the gap between his coverage and the actual cost to replace them narrows.
It may be a while, he said, but they should be back up before the trees grow back.
Contact John Molseed
at (319) 291-1418 or
john.molseed@wcfcourier.com.
 |
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