Insurance claim denial a sign of the times

Chevrolet dealership owner Joel Thys is sorry for the mess outside of his business in Toledo, Iowa, the cause of a derecho in August that wiped out billions of dollars of property across the Midwest.

 

He’s also sorry his property insurer Federated Insurance won’t cover the $932,000 in damages, according to a report on KCCI in nearby Des Moines.

 

And making both points known with a billboard outside of his business, “Federated Insurance has Denied my Claim,” along with his apologies.

 

“I've helped clean up after a few tornadoes over the years, but nothing like this where everywhere you look for miles and miles is complete devastation,” Mr. Thys told a reporter.

 

He filed a state and now federal lawsuit that demands Federated pay and then went public with his massive proclamation, igniting support and shaming the insurer, which filed paperwork in court stating that Mr. Thys canceled the coverage in June, according to the article.

 

“Why should it take me putting up a sign to make them do what’s right?” he said to a reporter. “I get several phone calls every day since I put it up, and it’s people saying, ‘Yup,’ you know, saying, ‘My insurance company is doing that to me, too. Good for you.’”