After winds from an EF-1 tornado knocked a tree down on top of Sigma Nu’s house, members of Phi Kappa Psi extended their help across Ashland and Beechwood avenues.
“It was kind of creepy to see how that actually happened to a house and it could have been our house, could have been anybody,” said Thomas Jacocks, former president of Phi Kappa Psi.
Members of the fraternity created a GoFundMe to help offset the cost of damages, and even though Sigma Nu had the damages assessed by their insurance company, Jacocks said Phi Kappa Psi wanted to show their support.
Currently, the GoFundMe has $520 of its $1,000 goal.
“Well, they have [the] Alumni Association and a housing core and alumni to kind of help the cost for it and all, but at the same time, during a social probation, obviously it’s kind of hard to connect with other organizations,” Jacocks said.
While the GoFundMe was nice for public relations, Jacocks said, it was nice to support a fraternity similar to his own.
“It was kind of nice to show our face and show support for a fraternity like us. They don’t have a big house, same as us, so we’re trying to support their organization as well as trying to help them out through a hard time,” Jacocks said. “If it happened to our house, I would want somebody else from another organization or fraternity to help us at as well.”
Former Sigma Nu president Austin Sventeckis said the insurance company has assessed damages, but it’s unknown whether or not members will have to financially contribute to the repairs.
Kevin Gatzlaff, associate professor of insurance finance and insurance, said members of the fraternity would have to pay for repairs if their coverage left some expenses out. However, the repair costs are usually left to the insurance company.
“In most states, the insured will make the arrangements for the property to be repaired, but the actual cost is paid by the insurer,” Gatzlaff said in an email.
However, if the damages are lower than the owner’s deductible, the owner or the tenants would be responsible for repair costs, said professor of insurance finance and insurance Stephen Avila.
Contact Mary Freda with comments at mafreda@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @Mary_Freda1.
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