Insurance companies beef up for N.C. claims

Insurance companies are bringing in reinforcements to handle a wave of claims arising from the weekend storms and tornadoes that knifed through North Carolina. State Farm Insurance, which has 380,796 homeowners’ policies in the state, is bringing in 30 or so members from its national catastrophe team and will add more if needed. As of Monday morning, the insurer already had logged in 1,200 homeowners’ claims and 450 auto claims stemming from the storms and tornadoes. Nationwide Insurance reported 1,099 homeowners’ claims and 667 auto claims; a company spokeswoman said more than 300 staffers are working on claims.