Potawatomi Casino Insurance Denies Claims for Flooded Vehicles in Valet Garage
Posted on: October 7, 2025, 10:31h.
Last updated on: October 7, 2025, 11:33h.
- The Potawatomi Casino Hotel parking garage experienced significant flooding in August
- Underinsured vehicle owners are experiencing difficulty in receiving coverage for this damage
The Potawatomi Casino Hotel, like the rest of Milwaukee, experienced historic flooding in August. The tribal resort’s insurance carrier says it bears no responsibility for the “act of nature.”
Described by weather forecasters as a “once in a thousand years event,” the Milwaukee metro received up to 10 inches of rain in just 48 hours between August 9-10. The record-setting rainfall was the result of an unusual weather pattern over the western shore of Lake Michigan.
Forecasts didn’t anticipate the storm until the day before the rain began. The Wauwatosa neighborhood near the Potawatomi Casino was hit the hardest.
The extraordinary storm resulted in hundreds of vehicles at the tribal casino being damaged, with many suffering total losses. The parking garage’s underground valet was most impacted. Self-parked vehicles on the first level of the six-level parking structure also experienced extensive water damage.
Owners were only able to retrieve their vehicles on Thursday, August 14. Many found their automobiles greatly damaged, with most needing to file insurance claims.
Underinsured Face Losses
As Casino.org reported at the time, most standard auto insurance policies don’t cover flood damage. Only comprehensive insurance policies, which include protection for “other than collision,” cover water damage. Comprehensive additionally protects vehicles from hail, fire, vandalism, and theft.
Some Potawatomi guests who saw their vehicles damaged or totally lost during the flooding were told by their insurance carriers that their standard policy didn’t cover the “act of nature.” Roger McGee tells the NBC News affiliate in Milwaukee that he then filed an insurance claim with the casino’s property insurer to pay out on his vehicle, which was a total loss.
McGee said he had used the valet to visit the casino. He thinks the casino is liable for not moving his vehicle from the underground valet to a higher area.
McGee was recently informed by Tribal First, a nationwide provider of insurance to Native American tribes that’s a subsidiary of Alliant, one of the largest insurance brokers in the US, that his claim had been rejected.
“There was a historic regional weather event that necessitated a state of emergency in Milwaukee. Unprecedented levels of precipitation caused flash flooding in Milwaukee and surrounding areas. As a result of this event, vehicles located in the parking garage of valet parking and on the premises … were damaged,” the Tribal First rejection letter to McGee read.
The cause of this loss was due to an act of nature. Our investigation showed neither negligence nor liability. While we regret any incident a patron may have had and certainly sympathize with any difficulty this incident may have caused you, we must respectfully deny your claim,” the letter continued.
Coincidentally, the letter was signed by Tribal First Liability Adjuster Michael McGee, of the same last name as the claimant.
Total Damage
Milwaukee officials report that at least 51 homes were destroyed by the August floods. More than 4,500 residential and commercial buildings suffered damage.
The storm is thought to have caused $43 million in infrastructure damage and $21 million in property damage. There were three suspected deaths caused by the storm, with two from drowning and one from carbon monoxide poisoning.
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