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Missouri Department of Insurance Director Scott Lakin announced that his staff will conduct “town hall” meetings Aug. 7 in Hillsboro and Aug. 11 in Stockton for Missourians who suffered tornado damage in early May.

The Hillsboro event actually will serve residents of the DeSoto area, where so many public buildings were damaged that no meeting site was available.

Linda Bohrer, the MDI consumer affairs division director, will conduct the events, but MDI also is inviting large insurers, state legislators, local elected officials, disaster personnel and Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office, which handles the usual increase in complaints about contractors during reconstruction after storms of this size.

MDI has appreciated the assistance of local officials in making most arrangements.

The event schedule includes:

鈥擠eSoto area town hall meeting: Thursday, Aug. 7, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Jefferson County Administration Center, 729 Maple St., Hillsboro, Mo.

鈥擲tockton town hall meeting: Monday, Aug. 11, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Cedar County Courthouse,
110 South St., Stockton, Mo.

Residents of Polk County and other nearby areas that suffered damage also are welcome at the Stockton event. MDI expects to schedule similar forums in other disaster-stricken communities, depending on the response in Jefferson County and Stockton.

Through July 15, MDI had established 102 formal consumer complaints, many of which deal with insurance company handling of claims from homes that were totally destroyed鈥攖ypically the highest priority after a severe storm. MDI consumer staff also had logged 367 inquiries related to the series of tornados and less severe hail and wind storms spawned by a super-cell formation stalled over Missouri the week of May 4.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm Missouri