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Stepping Up Readiness for Hurricane Ike

Posted on: Thursday, 11 September 2008, 18:00 CDT

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- State Farm, the leading insurer of cars and homes in Texas and the nation, is at a heightened state of readiness for Hurricane Ike. We are re-tasking key personnel so they can focus on preparing for Ike's impact and we have ensured our lines of communication are open, clear, and ready in advance of the storm.

State Farm's state of the art Catastrophe Team, a mobile workforce of experienced claim representatives, is ready to respond quickly -- and wirelessly -- if Hurricane Ike impacts our customers.

More than a thousand team members are already staffing our high tech Centralized Catastrophe Services locations in Dallas, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida. There are now so many people stationed at the Jacksonville claim center that employees are being bussed to the site from remote parking lots. We have been steadily increasing our staffing at these centers as a result of the series of recent storms.

"If you're affected by Ike and call 1-800-SF-CLAIM there's a good chance a team member in Dallas or Jacksonville will start helping you with your claim," said State Farm's National Spokesperson, Jonathan Freed.

On the ground, hundreds of State Farm claim representatives, associates, as well as agents and their staff, are spread across Ike's potential impact area. They're ready to start assisting policyholders as soon as help is needed.

State Farm has 12 mobile office vehicles, ranging from a large van to a full-sized 18-wheel tractor trailer, which can be dispatched to a storm struck area. Five of the vehicles have built in satellite capability. And the company also has more than 30 portable satellite units which can be set up anywhere allowing seamless and quick electronic claim handling. We can also create pop-up hot spots at our catastrophe work areas allowing representatives to wirelessly handle claims at a faster rate.

Street signs are often blown down by a storm. Our claims force is also GPS equipped -- so, finding a customer, and getting help to them quickly, is never a problem.

State Farm's greatest concern is for the safety of everyone who could be affected by this storm.

If evacuations are necessary, we want our customers to know we will be ready to help them once they return to their homes.

Here are some suggestions on what to do before a storm hits: -- Know your evacuation routes and follow them carefully. -- Board up windows, cover them with protective shutters or tape them for reinforcement. -- Turn off water, electricity and gas prior to leaving your home if an evacuation order is issued. -- Make sure your vehicle has a full tank of gas. -- If you plan to leave a vehicle behind, make sure it is protected in your garage or left on high ground. -- Move all garbage cans, awnings and other large outside objects inside or anchor them securely. -- Tie up boats, or if possible, place them inside a building. -- Avoid high water - it can damage your engine and stall your car. -- Remember to take any needed medication with you.

Again, State Farm wants everyone to be safe and if necessary, evacuate to a safe location.

For additional information about State Farm's storm readiness please visit http://www.statefarm.com/.

About State Farm:

State Farm(R) insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 67,000 employees serve 78 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com(R) or in Canada statefarm.ca(R).

State Farm

CONTACT: Jonathan Freed, Corporate Public Affairs of State Farm,+1-309-766-3694, Jonathan.Freed.pv88@statefarm.com

Web site: http://www.statefarm.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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