Weather and catastrophe team rushing to respond

It isn't your average job, but for members of the State Farm Catastrophe Team®, it's the fastest way to help.

State Farm catastrophe vehicle in a parking lot.

Members of the State Farm Catastrophe Team — the largest catastrophe team and fleet in the insurance industry — can assess damage and provide help for policyholders affected by natural disasters, whether they suffered moderate damage or lost everything. Payments paid to policyholders often cover immediate needs such as housing, transportation and food. The team then works with policyholders to assist with long-range repairs or replacements.

The team has a fleet of vehicles at their disposal that can operate independent of local utilities or communications. Dispatched depending on the size and severity of the disaster, these trailers and RVs serve as on-the-spot claims offices, complete with work stations, computers, tents, power generators and satellite access for phone and internet communications.

The team that organizes the deployment of vehicles and equipment is called Enterprise Catastrophe Support Team (ECST) and is housed in Bloomington, Illinois. ECST can deliver equipment and vehicles anywhere in the country in less than 48 hours, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.

Mobile catastrophe facility

The largest vehicle, dubbed the Mobile Catastrophe Facility (MCF), is a custom-built, 53-foot semitrailer that includes more than 900 square feet of working space for as many as 50 people. State Farm® has two MCFs.
The MCF includes 7-foot pullout sections on each side. Its special 25-foot awnings also can be extended as drive-through lanes to inspect damaged cars — handling up to 300 a day.
The facility can be deployed within four hours of notification and reach any location in the continental U.S. within 48 hours.
The MCF is just the largest of the fleet, which includes a large array of vehicles that can be dispatched to several locations simultaneously if needed.

Catastrophe response trailers

The company also can deploy its five 31-foot Catastrophe Response Trailers (CRT), which are travel trailers converted and equipped for mobile office space.
Each vehicle supports five personnel inside with accommodations for eight more working outside. The trailers include telephones, network connections, printers, fax machines and copiers. They were also designed to use portable generators and satellite connectivity as standalone office operations.

Mobile catastrophe command centers

There are five State Farm Mobile Catastrophe Command Centers (M3Cs), which are custom-built trucks specifically designed for efficient claim handling. The vehicles are 40 feet long with up to 12 workstations inside and eight more outside under the attached awnings.
The M3Cs are stand-alone office operations equipped with generator power and satellite connectivity, and ready to work with printers, fax machines and copiers. These vehicles are also speedy in response, as they can be set up and ready to work in approximately one hour after arrival on the catastrophe scene.

Mobile catastrophe trailers

State Farm also has three Mobile Catastrophe Trailers (MCTs) in the fleet, all equipped with 36-foot gooseneck trailers custom built for catastrophe response office space.

These vehicles, equipped with telephones, network connections, printers, fax machine and a copier also carry generators and connectivity to support eight personnel inside with accommodations for an additional eight outside.

If you're a State Farm policyholder and have experienced a catastrophe, contact your State Farm agent first. If you can't reach your agent's office, call our customer representatives 24/7 at 800-SF-CLAIM (800-732-5246) or visit the claims help section of statefarm.com®.