By Brooke Foster

When it rains, it pours. Just ask Elmore County residents Carol and Lamar “Bubba” Woodham.  

Returning home from Bubba’s coronary angioplasty procedure May 22, the Woodhams walked into their once-tranquil Eclectic lake home to discover a significant amount of damage. The culprit? An undetected water leak downstairs. 

“When we got home from the hospital and got Bubba settled in, I walked down to the basement,” Carol recalled. “It wasn’t long before I noticed a puddle of water in the corner near the garage. It was odd, but I didn’t think much of it until I opened the door and found water running through the garage and through the walls of the room next door. It lapped over my shoes!” 

As the water continued to leak from the ceiling into the walls, Carol scurried upstairs to inform a recovering Bubba of the situation. He’s quick to say the leak wasn’t part of his doctor’s post-op instructions, but exceptional service from Alfa Insurance® made what could’ve been a stressful situation a smooth process. 

“It was overwhelming to have this happen after coming home from the hospital,” Bubba said. “Thankfully, Carol found the leak when she did. It could have been a lot worse.”

Bubba reached out to Alfa Agent Felicia Brown to let her know what happened. Within a few hours, Adjuster Oaklee Williams was on the phone reassuring the Woodhams they’d be taken care of. 

“Except for hail damage, I’d never filed a claim before,” Bubba said, recalling his 40-plus years as an Alfa customer. “In every step of the process, Oaklee and (Large Loss Adjuster) Terry McKelvey were courteous, knowledgeable and professional in their areas of expertise. I truly could not have asked for a better team.” 

From the ceiling to baseboards and custom woodwork, everything damaged in the Woodhams’ home was repaired or replaced within four weeks.

Looking back, Bubba said what most impressed him with the process was consistent communication.

“At no time was I wondering what to do or the next step Alfa was going to take,” he said.

Williams said while he appreciates the Woodhams’ kind words about Alfa’s claims response, he was simply doing his job.

“Keeping our customers up to date on the status of claims eases anxiety around the situation,” Williams said. “Even if I don’t have any updates, I still want to communicate with my customers to ensure they know where we stand in the process. I’m glad I was able to assist the Woodhams and provide them with a positive claims experience. It always feels good to deliver on the Alfa promise.”  

Carol praised that personal service.

“My parents, as well as Bubba’s, were insured with Alfa back when it was called Alabama Farm Bureau,” Carol said. “We’ve always known that Alfa was a trusted insurance company. This truth was only further validated during our claims experience.”

Sharing a smile, McKelvey assured Bubba and Carol they could rely on Alfa to get things back to normal quickly and efficiently.

“As a company, we do our very best to take care of our customers,” McKelvey said. “That’s what I’ve loved about working for Alfa for 34 years. We want to ensure our customers they can confidently put their trust in us to handle their claims with ease. That’s the Alfa difference.”