Claims From Omaha, Nebraska Hail Storm Reach Catastrophic Level

Dick Seitz (Class of ’61) and his Cathedral High School buddies were at Mama’s Pizza on Saddle Creek Road on Thursday evening last week, telling stories of the old days, when they heard what sounded like firecrackers outside. The noise actually came from hailstones, some as big as 4 inches in diameter. Within a few minutes, Seitz’s 2010 Honda CR-V had dozens of dings and dents — one of them deep enough to chip paint and break the lens on his right headlight — and cracks arrayed like a spiderweb in his windshield. “I couldn’t believe it,” said Seitz, who was at a drive-thru insurance claims office in La Vista this week. A claims adjuster had just given him a $7,000 check, which he’ll use to fix the CR-V. “I like this car.” The check was Seitz’s piece of what insurance companies now call the June 29 Omaha hail property damage catastrophe, setting in motion a tedious dance of home and vehicle inspections, repair estimates, contractor bids, deductibles and neighborhood disruption aimed at returning things to pre-storm condition.