State Farm catastrophe site set up after devastating hail storm

It’s been almost a week since a devastating hail storm hit the Borderland and many people are still dealing with the damage left behind.

The Insurance Council of Texas declared last Friday’s storms a catastrophe.

Andrew Rodriguez was at work when the storm hit. His car was nearby in a parking lot and is now covered in dents. “I was sad, I paid money for this car,” Rodriguez said.

The amount of damage caused by the hail was surprising to him and his mother Michele Rodriguez.

“You can see all the little dents on the vehicle. There are just hundreds of little dents. The hail was really small, but it just came down really hard and it just produced a lot of dents in the car,” Rodriguez said.

The Rodriguez family brought the car to a State Farm catastrophe site set up in the parking lot of a Home Depot in east El Paso off Rojas.

The company has brought in an army of agents armed with computers and printers to help people.

The site opened this morning, and already, agents have processed claims from 60 people who had their vehicles damaged in the hail storm.

State Farm agent Crystal Martinez reported the company has already received 4,600 auto and home claims.

“It’s not the size of the hail this time, it’s quantity. There is a lot of small hail that fell. Even the small hail that fell, they can total the cars, so the cars can be a total loss,” Martinez said.

But you just can’t drive up to the site. State Farm is asking drivers to call and make an appointment.

The company will be setting up a second catastrophe site next week. The location though has not yet been chosen.

Agents want people to know they are trying to expedite the process and are ready to cut checks.

That was good news for Andrew Rodriguez. The damage to his car totaled more than $10,000.

“I am thankful i paid that insurance, but it would be bad,” Rodriguez said.

The Insurance Council of Texas is warning homeowners of scams involving people knocking on doors, leaving their business cards or making phone calls claiming they are roofers.

People are also advised to be careful with lawyers who promise to get homeowners more money for their claim.