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Nationwide Insurance Responding to Claims from Tornado and Hail Storms

 COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Nationwide Insurance, the country's fourth largest home insurance provider, has claims representatives and agents assisting its customers following the severe weather that tore through several Ohio counties yesterday, generating tornados, hail and straight line winds. 

Nationwide employees from other locations are also prepared to help. Nationwide claims representatives and catastrophe teams were on alert when the storm hit Sunday following word of heavy winds and power outages to residents in the hardest hit areas. 

Nationwide's national catastrophe team, comprised of managers and claims employees, is responding to the disaster areas immediately, handling catastrophe claims, organizing local and home office catastrophe response, and setting up storm centers. "By using our national catastrophe team dedicated solely to handling storm claims, we can significantly increase our response time while causing less disruption to normal claims handling," said Pete Lore, claims technical officer for Nationwide. "Nationwide has distinguished itself from the industry with its outstanding claims catastrophe response," Lore said. 

Nationwide reports several large loss claims in the Van Wert area and assessing the damage in other areas and contacting residents to resolve claims as quickly as possible. Nationwide catastrophe teams will remain on site until all claims have been reported and resolved. Nationwide policyholders whose property is damaged are advised to call their Nationwide agent or Nationwide's 24-hour claims hotline at 1-800-421-3535. Customers may also report claims through http://www.nationwide.com . 

Meanwhile, Nationwide advises those with property damage to take steps to ensure that further damage does not occur. Holes in roofs and broken windows should be covered, either with plastic or plywood, and the property should be secured to prevent thefts or vandalism. If a structure's contents were damaged, policyholders should prepare an itemized list that should be given to their claims representative. Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the country's largest multi-line insurers and financial service organizations.