Few Claims Reported From Winter Storm Juno

Winter Storm Juno – a blizzard that swept through the Northeast during the last week of January and brought record and near-record snowfalls and high winds – has resulted in relatively few insurance claims so far, according to industry participants.

The blizzard mostly impacted southeastern Connecticut, Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the Islands, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as eastern Long Island in New York. The storm snowfall ranged from a few inches to two to three feet. In heavily hit Massachusetts, communities west of Boston received the greatest snowfall, reaching up to 36 inches. Many parts of Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine received snowfalls of 20 inches or more.

A State Farm spokesperson said on Feb. 2 that the company had very little claim activity from this event.

Tony Payne, vice president of business development at Clark Insurance, an agency with offices in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, also said on Feb. 2 that the agency didn’t see much change in claim activity. “We really don’t have much to offer in terms of a wild swing in claim activity. Fender benders were a steady source of calls but very little related to wind or crushing snow loads,” said Payne.

“We continue to receive claims for frozen pipes, however. Nothing unusual for this time of year,” he said. “A couple feet of snow is not a big deal in Maine.”

“Gratefully, the snow was very light in terms of moisture content and Central Maine Power Company has done an excellent job in trimming trees to avoid power outages,” said Payne.

Rogers & Gray Insurance, an agency with eight locations in Massachusetts, also said on Feb. 2 that it had very few claims from Winter Storm Juno. “Most people respected the fact that this was a powerful storm and stayed home to ride out the snow, keeping accidents to a minimum,” a Rogers & Gray spokesperson said.