NATCHEZ — When Hurricane Gustav blew through the Miss-Lou on Monday, Roy Blackwell braced for the impact.

Blackwell, who owns six pieces of property in Natchez, knew the possibility of receiving damage was likely.

And he was right. At least, two of the homes he owns had damage from trees blown down in the storm. The worst of which is a mobile home rental that has a downed tree where the bedroom used to be.

Blackwell said he was at the house about 45 minutes after the tree fell.

“A neighbor called and told me the tree was down,” Blackwell said. “It was still storming pretty bad when I came out here.”

Fortunately, the renter of Blackwell’s property was out of town when the storm hit. Blackwell said he called his renter to tell him about the property.

“He was really upset about it,” Blackwell said. “He asked me if he had anything left, and I told him there was a little that could be saved.”

Blackwell said he was shocked when he rounded the corner and got his first glimpse of the damage.

“I said ‘good gosh’ when I first saw it,” Blackwell said. “I could see the damage pretty easily since there were so many trees and branches down around it.”

State Farm Claim Representative, Andy McCaa from Brandon, said this was typical of the damage he has seen while working insurance claims.

McCaa is a member of State Farm’s React Team which is a group of claim representatives who temporarily set up shop at disaster sites.

McCaa worked this week with local State Farm agent, Kevin Whittington to do damage assessments and process claims.

“We partner up with local agents to get claims worked quickly and efficiently,” McCaa.

Tim Sessions, owner of River City Insurance in Natchez, said quick and efficient work is the key during times of disaster.

“A lot of the insurance companies like for you to call them directly when you have a claim,” Sessions said. “This and the fact that everything is automated makes the process a lot quicker and more efficient.”

Sessions said that after a claim has been filed it is typically just a few days before an insurance adjuster can get to the site and begin the process.

For State Farm customers, the wait can be even shorter since they place catastrophe teams in the disaster area to speed up the process.

Whittington said he and McCaa visited more than 25 properties on Wednesday and would keep that same pace for the remainder of the week and weekend.

“As soon as we get a claim, we try to get an assessment the next day,” Whittinton said.

McCaa said that some policy holders, depending on the scope of the damage, can also get immediate payment for their damage

“In some cases we can go out to the car and prepare the estimate right away.” McCaa said. “Once we do that, we can give them a handwritten check immediately.

“More extensive damage will require a more detailed assessment and takes a little bit longer.”

The actual process of a claim assessment is fairly straight forward according to McCaa.

He said that once he arrives at a property he first talks to the property owner about the damage that they have seen and then he does his own thorough inspection, which includes sketches and photographs of the damage.

“Since we’ve done this so much, we can sometimes point out damage that the owner didn’t notice,” McCaa said.

From there, McCaa takes his notes and prepares an estimate.

During a disaster, McCaa said his work day can start before 6 a.m. and last until after 10 p.m.

“It isn’t just a 10 or 12 hour work day,” McCaa said. “We work out in the field until it is dark and then spend the remainder of the night writing estimates.”

McCaa said that despite the long hours he still enjoys working during a disaster.

“I love my job because I’m out here helping people,” he said.

Sessions said that since he is not an insurance adjuster the most important part of his work takes place before a disaster occurs.

“We always explain the type of coverage people are purchasing so they can understand it,” Sessions said. “We always encourage people to get the best coverage they can.”

However, sometimes the pocketbook comes into play when purchasing insurance and Sessions said that makes his job difficult.

“Insurance is something everyone should have. It is a shame that it is so expensive some people can’t afford what they need,” Session said.

In cases where there financial limitations, Sessions said he works hard to make sure his customers get the best possible coverage.

“Anything is better than nothing,” Sessions said.

While, Sessions hasn’t had the same volume of calls that Whittington has experienced he has been busy answering questions from his policyholders.

“We’ve had a lot of people call to ask questions about their policies and to make sure that they cover the damage they have,” Sessions said.

One question Sessions has answered a lot has been whether customers should worry about having their policies canceled if they make a claim.

“It is unfortunate that people have to worry about having their policy canceled.” Sessions said. “However, under normal circumstances and for normal claims cancellation should not be a concern.”

For Sessions taking time to explain policies and answer questions is just part of job.

“People put their trust in you that they have the coverage they need,” Sessions said.