CLAREMORE, Okla. — More than four months since a tornado tore through Claremore, the Middleswart's home is just as the storm left it.
Terry Middleswart said that's because their insurance company, State Farm, has not made it easy for them to get the support they need.
Terry and his wife have been living in a trailer in front of their home since the May 25 tornado.
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They haven't been able to repair anything on their property because they're still waiting on State Farm to compensate their claim.
“It’s like you’re trying to take money out of their piggy bank," said Middleswart. "Well, I’ve paid into it for years and years and years. Now that’s its time for them to pay up… it’s a gamble. You have insurance and something happens, they pay. You don’t have insurance, you pay.”
After they assessed the damage to their home, the Middleswarts called their agent to make a claim.
The roof was ripped off in many places, and the walls were blown out by the winds. Middleswart's barn and workshop were also completely destroyed.
In the last few months, he said, State Farm has sent a crew to clean out their home and remove everything that was contaminated.
Three adjusters have been to the property, all giving conflicting opinions on how the pair should proceed.
“You’ve really got to press them to get an answer," he said. "Every time we talk to an adjuster, they say, ‘Well I’ve done my part, it went up to management,' then it gets kicked back down to them, and they’ve got to do something else and then it goes back to management. It seems like every two and a half months, we get a new adjuster. They’ll give you a little bit of money and then the new adjuster comes in and starts all over again.”
As a disabled veteran, Middleswart would prefer to knock the house down and rebuild it. He thinks it's safer that way.
“There’s cattle and everything else, the horse track’s down there, so we had feces and stuff floating through the air. Well it blew through our house, so our house is contaminated. Nobody seemed to care about that," he said.
It's not just been about getting repair funds, either. Middleswart said State Farm was supposed to compensate them for food since they don't have a stove or place to cook.
"Last Thursday, we got a check for four thousand dollars for four months of eating out at a restaurant," he said. "And if you’ve eaten out at a restaurant lately, you know that’s not a lot of money.”
With limited spending money, the Middleswarts have limited themselves to one meal a day.
They hired a builder after one adjuster said they didn't need to knock the place down. That builder was also apprehensive about doing anything to the home.
From the water-damaged walls, broken trusses, and partially ripped-out wire, their builder doesn't want to put his name on something that won't stay standing.
On the flip side, he's concerned about starting to work on it, and then the Middleswarts run out of money because the insurance company isn't giving them the funds they need and paid for through their policy.
"[The builder] saying, ‘yeah they give you just enough to get you started, but I don’t know if you really want to start doing stuff without knowing exactly what they’re going to pay for,’" said Middleswart. "We’re 70 plus year's old, I don’t want a $50 thousand mortgage at my age. That’s what I have insurance for.”
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The Middleswarts stopped by the 2 News Listening Booth at the Tulsa State Fair, out of options and looking for an advocate.
“Just the apathy, you know, of the people at State Farm, it’s like yeah well.. you know, you’ve seen the text messages, ‘Just be patient, just be patient.’ How long am I supposed to be patient for? My god, I’m in my 70s.”
2 News reached out to the Oklahoma Insurance Department to try to get them some answers.
The agent we spoke to said it's the homeowner's call to rebuild or determine if the home is a complete loss. He said he is in contact with State Farm and is going to try to get the ball rolling for the Middleswarts case.
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