On Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, millions of people were getting ready for
Sandy—what meteorologists described as a
“strikingly
powerful” storm.
But while many people were doing what they could to get out of the areas
forecast to be affected by the storm, Allstate’s
National
Catastrophe Team was doing what it could to get as close to them as safely
possible.
With 825 inside and field employees, the National Catastrophe Team
supplemented its staff with independent adjusting firms, and deployed a fleet of
Mobile
Claims Centers, and smaller Catastrophe Response Vehicles, to service people
affected by Sandy.
Team members stationed themselves near the affected region, so they would be
ready to move in and help customers as soon as local authorities deemed it
safe.
Set up in locations for those who need help most.
The Mobile Claims Centers, which have been in use by Allstate since 1999, set
up shop in highly accessible locations—in the parking lots of major retailers,
for instance—so Allstate policyholders who needed help the most could easily
find them.
One of multiple strategies to help customers impacted
by natural disasters, the MCC units are fully equipped with generators and
satellite connections, so, even as much of the region impacted by Sandy was in
the dark, members of Allstate’s National Catastrophe Team were able to start
helping customers right away, setting up claims and even issuing checks for
temporary living expenses, as well as handing out bottled water and teddy
bears.
“Unfortunately, after truly devastating storms, customers [sometimes] come to
us for assistance with literally nothing more than the clothes on their backs,”
said Mike Paul, who oversees the Mobile Claims Center program for the National
Catastrophe Team. “Because we are physically onsite following a storm, we can
immediately begin the claims process.”
On occasion, if a local Allstate agent’s facilities are inoperable due to a
catastrophe, MCCs may be set up near the agent’s office to help customers, Paul
said.
In this way, Allstate customers have the benefit of personal service from
their agents, who live in their communities and understand what they’re going
through, as well as the National Catastrophe Team, which brings in the personnel
and facilities to help them in their time of need.
Since 1999, when the first MCC unit hit the road, the fleet has been an
important tool for the National Catastrophe Team, which, itself, was established
in 1996 after Allstate responded to Hurricane Andrew in South Florida.
Paul has been involved in the recovery efforts for numerous storms, including
major events like Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav.
Part of ‘something bigger’ than yourself
“This is what we love to do. This is kind of our calling,” he said. “You
feel like you’re part of something bigger than yourself when responding to a
major disaster. This is where the rubber meets the road, where our customers
need us the most.”
Last year, after more than a decade of success with the MCC units, the
National Catastrophe Team started a new program, launching a fleet of
Catastrophe Response Vehicles, which are smaller vehicles that allow Allstate
personnel to actually go through affected neighborhoods to individual
policyholders’ houses to check on them after a catastrophe.
Visit The Allstate Blog for an upcoming look at the National Catastrophe
Team’s CRVs, the newest strategy in Allstate’s response to natural
disasters.
Recommended by the editors:
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