Insurance Department Expanding On-Site Disaster Recovery Assistance in Southern Tier

NEW YORK, NY (08/27/2009)(readMedia)-- The New York State Insurance Department is expanding its efforts to help Southern Tier residents recovering from flooding by dispatching consumer assistance personnel to the Town of Boston.

Insurance Department personnel will be stationed at Boston Town Hall, 8500 Boston State Rd., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday and Friday.

In addition, the Insurance Department's Mobile Command Center will continue to provide consumer assistance at Mt. Carmel Church, 165 Central Ave. in Silver Creek from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

Personnel staffing the two locations will be available to answer inquires regarding insurance policies and coverage, as well as to assist consumers with insurance-related complaints.

In addition to the on-site assistance, residents seeking help on insurance questions may also contact the Department's Disaster Hotline 1-800-339-1759 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Insurance Department personnel were sent to the Southern Tier to help consumers with insurance-related issues on Monday when the mobile command center was initially based in Gowanda.

Homeowners' policies do not usually cover damage from floods, but such coverage is available through the National Flood Insurance Program. Owners of damaged vehicles whose automobile insurance policies contain comprehensive coverage, also known as "other than collision," are covered for flood damages.

The disaster recovery efforts follow serious flooding that occurred Aug. 9-10.

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