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>> After a week of historic
storms across the state,

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residents near the Wolf
River in central Wisconsin

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were some of the hardest
hit with flooding. Some are

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just beginning to assess
the damage after evacuation

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orders sent them fleeing to
higher ground. Beyond

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bailing out the water, many
are calling their insurance

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companies to find out what
damage is or isn't covered.

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Here and now, reporter
Steven Potter has this

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report from Waupaca County.
>> People were in kind of a

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panic because this rose
faster and more water than

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we've ever seen in our
lifetime.

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>> When heavy storms struck
central Wisconsin late last

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week, it was far too much
for the Wolf River to

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handle. A long waterway
that bends through Waupaca

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County, many residents near
the river, and even some

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not near the river, quickly
found their homes and

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property underwater.
Communities like Fremont,

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New London and Shiocton
were swamped.

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>> It's worse than anybody
anticipated.

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>> Jim Falke is a village
trustee in Fremont.

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>> There's quite a few
homes in the area that are

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severely damaged with waist
deep water. The businesses

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have all been shut down for
for a week now.

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>> As you can see here in
Fremont, much of downtown

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is flooded still days after.
We've got water pumps and

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trucks trying to get this
water out. One business

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owner told me they're
simply trying to move water

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from one place to another.
Resident Yvonne Clemens

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owns two businesses in
Fremont, one downtown and

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one on the river.
>> Of course, there's

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always been some high water,
but I don't think anybody

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has ever expected to see it
this high.

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>> So as for her resort on
the river, she says she

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doesn't know what's been
ruined because it's so

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waterlogged she can't get
to it.

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>> Honestly, I have no idea.
I won't know until we see

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the extent of the damage
and what needs to be

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replaced.
all the water and the

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damage, those affected by
recent storms also have

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another challenge dealing
with insurance companies.

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>> It can be a very
difficult time for people,

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right? You have a storm
come through. You realize

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that your car is damaged,
your house is damaged.

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Maybe your your personal
belongings are damaged and

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it can be scary. You know,
people don't necessarily

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know what to do, where to
turn.

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Wisconsin's insurance
commissioner. His office

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serves as the state's
insurance industry watchdog.

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>> We're here for people
who have questions about

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dealing with their
insurance policy, or for

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people who maybe feel like
they're not being treated

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fairly.
have never encountered

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natural disasters before,
he strongly recommends

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keeping good records in the
aftermath.

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>> Before you start
cleaning up anything or

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spending money on any
repairs. Make sure you

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document the damage. Take
pictures. Create an

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inventory of anything
>> Houdek says people

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should resist the urge to
move too fast during

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cleanup.
>> Before you make any

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major purchases or throw
anything away, you really

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want to work with the
adjuster to make sure that

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you're doing everything in
complying with what you

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need to, to make sure that
the claim is handled

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properly.
>> But what if your claim

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isn't being handled
properly?

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>> If you feel like your
insurance company or the

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adjuster is not treating
you fairly in terms of

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covering things that you
feel like should be covered

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by your policy, that's when
we encourage people to

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contact our office to, you
know, potentially file a

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complaint or just to ask
questions.

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>> Houdek also notes that
insurance policies vary

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widely and can be very
different depending on the

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company and specific
coverage. It pays to read

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the fine print.
>> We encourage people to

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check their insurance
coverage regularly to make

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sure that the coverage they
have is appropriate and

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provides the necessary
protection.

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>> One very pertinent
example of that is like

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what people in Waupaca
County are going through

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right now.
>> If you have damage or

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you experience a loss from
flooding that typically

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isn't covered by a
homeowner's policy.

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>> Houdek says that
Wisconsin residents who

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actually have flood
insurance are very few and

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far between.
>> Through the National

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Flood Insurance Program,
there's only about 10,000

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policies statewide. And,
you know, obviously we're a

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state of about 6 million
>> But Houdek says flood

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insurance can be affordable
and worth it.

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>> A designated flood plain
or in a place where you

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experience flooding
regularly. Really? You want

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to consider getting flood
insurance because we're

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seeing more and more
situations where flooding

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is occurring in places
where it really never has

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before. Even one inch of
water can cause as much as

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$25,000 of damage.
>> Roy Toepke is a lifelong

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Fremont resident.
>> I'm going to be 73

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shortly and never been
anything close to this as

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far as flooding.
>> He hadn't been back to

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his home since evacuation
orders were given last

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Saturday. He doesn't have
flood insurance.

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>> We have an exposed
basement that I think may

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have had some water come in.
We'll find out when we get

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there. We didn't really
look into flood insurance

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because technically there's
never been a flood where

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where we're at, but it
might be something we need

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to look at in the future.
>> Worse than not having

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flood insurance is not
having any insurance at all.

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>> There is a lot of people
on the river that do not

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have homes, homeowners
insurance because of the

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cost or just because. Yeah,
they just don't have it.

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>> Luckily, we do have
flood insurance. We have a

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call in to them, you know,
to start the process. Of

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course, it takes a while.
We also have regular

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insurance.
>> Those who may have

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insurance may not have
enough or the right kind.

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>> But you know, sometimes
that doesn't cover lost

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wages. So for those folks
that have businesses that

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they rely on for income,
it's going to be hard on

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those folks.
>> Early estimates on the

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water damage from last
week's storms in central

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Wisconsin are already in
the millions and continue

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to climb. And that's not
counting all of the time

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spent and tears already
shed.

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>> I think it's going to be
a long haul before we're

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able to get it up and going
able to get it up and going