After the power outage, a wave of relief for some OBX vacationers

It's not all bad news for those people who had their vacations ruined because of a power outage at Hatteras Island and Ocracoke earlier this month.

With the mandatory evacuation order for all visitors, thousands of people couldn't access their vacation rentals for the week of July 30. Many spent big bucks for their beach rental, and the initial word was that despite having insurance, man-made disasters such as power outages wouldn't be covered.

Many who traveled for hundreds of miles couldn't believe they were out their money and beach rental.

Now, some welcome news for those who had insurance through AIG, also known as Travelguard. Despite the insurance policy not covering power outages caused by the performance of construction work, the company has elected to make a one-time good-faith decision to process the claim in the renter's favor.

I talked with several renters who just got the good news and they say they are very happy that they will be reimbursed the thousands of dollars they paid for the rental but didn't get to enjoy it.

RELATED: Read the letter from AIG's claim department (.pdf)

If you did not have insurance on the vacation rental, you can file a claim with PLC Construction, the company that accidentally caused the power outage.