Pardridge Insurance client Steve Rasmussen had property involved in the April 9, 2015 tornado that devastated Fairdale, IL. He was happy to have Pardridge Insurance on his side working to help him after the disaster. Please read his experience ~
“One year ago at about 7:15pm, a violent F4 tornado struck Fairdale, IL. The only commercial business in town was my business Woodsman Lumber. I was able to get in town right after the tornado struck. Everything was dark and the devastation was obvious. My property consisted of a two-story barn that housed my offices and some storage, a pole barn that had my pickup, a forklift, a skidsteer, my riding mower, a lot of lumber, a wood burning building for my heat and a new portable sawmill.
The 2nd story of the barn, the pole building all vanished. We found the door of the pole barn on the other end of Fairdale. The wood burning building was severely damaged and the sawmill was trashed.
Fortunately, we didn’t live in Fairdale. We just lost property and stuff.
My insurance agent, Larry Forsberg from Pardridge Insurance called me that night. He was on the edge of town unable to get through police roadblocks to inspect the damage. We arranged to meet for breakfast in Kirkland the next morning and then go over to Fairdale.
Early the next morning, we left Kirkland in a mini caravan hoping to get to see our property. We were stopped by road blocks on the west end of town but were able to get to the business which is on the very west end of town. Friends, family and Larry spent the day in Fairdale assessing damage, cleaning up debris and walking through town seeing if there was anything that we could do. For the most part the only people on the ground that morning were First Responders and Commonwealth Edison.
Larry helped out with getting Commonwealth Edison to use our property for staging all the materials and equipment that were brought in for repairs. He negotiated the use of the Commonwealth Edison dumpsters for our use.
The adjustor from Erie Insurance was great to work with. They were out to the scene as soon as insurance people were able to enter town. They were very fair with their assessment of the damage and very fair with their settlement. For years, I would question Larry if we had too much insurance on these old buildings. It is only after a tragic event that you are thankful for a knowledgeable agent who has your back. I have had insurance with Larry for many years. When I needed him and Pardridge Insurance, they were there for me. “
Steve Rasmussen
Woodsman Lumber