Wind damage and insurance
High winds swept through western Washington last night, with peaks of 70 mph in Hoquiam, 62 at Alki Point, 54 at McChord Field and 43 in Puyallup. (Here's a National Weather Service map of the winds and list of other cities' wind speeds.)
Power was knocked out for thousands of people, according to the Seattle Times, and there were downed trees throughout the area: 3 trees fell on one brick home in Seattle, a falling tree killed a woman in her mobile home in Kitsap County, and firefighters in Snohomish County freed a man trapped in his home by a fallen tree.
All of which brings us back to a frequent topic this time of year: winter storms and insurance. We've posted a long list of questions and answers online, including things like:
-Is your car covered if tree limbs fall on it?
-Will insurance pay to clean up all that tree debris in your yard? (Sorry; no.)
-What if your boat in the marina sank in the high winds?
-What if the power surge killed your TV?
...and much, much more. Take a look, and if you have questions or are having trouble getting a claim paid -- and you're a Washingtonian -- call us at 1-800-562-6900. We're the state agency that regulates insurance in Washington state; we'll try our best to help you.
