ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Phyllis Robb and her husband Bill will never forget the moment on August 24, 2023, when a large tree branch crashed through their roof.
They were in their bedroom about to turn on the 11pm news when the unimaginable happened.
“A gust of wind came up, the house shook, all hell broke loose,” Robb said. “The lights went out, we had no power, we looked at each other and ran here to find that a tree had fallen through the cathedral ceiling of this living room.”
After the branch was removed, a large hole remained in the living room ceiling for months.
When temperatures began to drop in October and no repairs were scheduled, Robb said she reached a turning point.
“It’s October,” she said. “This happened in August. When will this hole be filled in?”
After State Farm told her it would be weeks before an engineer could come to assess the damage, Robb recalled that CBS News Detroit had been to her home to film the initial damage.
“The next morning at 8:30 a.m. I learned that our situation had worsened,” she said. “I got a call from a nice lady from my insurance company, State Farm, who assured me that someone would be here at 9:30 that same morning. And by 5:30 p.m. that same afternoon, I had a check for $70,000.”
“Within 25 hours of airing our story, they were able to get things rolling for us.”
It would take another nine months for all repairs to be completed.
Robb said she was grateful to finally be home.
“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s a blessing. Every time I walk into this room and see these windows. Every time I sit down in this room, I’m grateful and relieved. And again, I’m so grateful to the contractor, CBS and the city of Ann Arbor. They’ve been wonderful. They’ve just held our hands.”
Meredith Bruckner
