State Farm Continues Catastrophe Response as Tornadoes and Severe Weather Strike Again

State Farm is continuing our catastrophe response to severe spring weather and damage following another storm that hit Friday, March 31 across parts of the Southern Great Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley – ultimately impacting more than 14 states.

Our hearts go out to the families of all those who lost their lives and have been tragically affected by the severe weather affecting many states including the recent devastating tornado that impacted Little Rock, AR and other states. Our greatest concern is for the safety of everyone in the area.

As of April 4, State Farm has received approximately 22,144 total home and auto claims (home: 16,188 and auto: 5,956) from this most recent wide-spread storm, and those claim numbers can be expected to increase as residents file claims. The impacted states include Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

State Farm catastrophe claim response team members have responded to the devastation to assist customers. Claim teams are actively making contact and providing initial claim handling efforts for our impacted customers with a focus on the most severe losses. Local State Farm agents and their staff also are available to help customers with their claims as we begin the recovery. Our first priority is taking care of our customers' needs as quickly as possible.

Catastrophe Customer Care site

A Catastrophe Customer Care site has been opened at Lowe’s parking lot, located at 1100 Bowman Rd. in Little Rock, AR 72211. Homeowner and auto claim handlers will be onsite to assist agents and policyholders with questions and provide advanced payments, as warranted. Additionally, our State Farm Customer Response Unit (CRU) is on-site and visiting impacted neighborhoods and several agents are traveling around with the CRU. The CRU is handing out basic supplies such as work gloves, water and other needed items to residents.

To provide the best possible service and response to customers who have damage from the tornado, the following are in place: 

• The 1-800-SFCLAIM line is activated and available for customers to begin the claim reporting process, should they be unable to reach their local State Farm agent.
   
• State Farm policyholders who have damage can submit and manage their claim through various channels. This includes calling or emailing their State Farm agent, calling 1-800-SFCLAIM, submitting a claim through our mobile app or through our website at statefarm.com/claims. Customers may also text the word “CLAIM” to 62789 to receive a link to file a claim.
   
• In addition to our on-the-ground team, we also have three Centralized Catastrophe Services (CCS) operations and our Initial Loss Reporting (ILR) teams located throughout the United States. State Farm has the advantage of a fleet of mobile claim handling facilities, innovatively designed to support our ability to provide optimal customer service even under challenging conditions.  

Making temporary repairs to damaged property:

When it is safe to do so, people with repairable/limited property damage should have reasonable temporary repairs made to prevent further damage to their property. Depending on your coverage, these repairs may be reimbursed. Save receipts if you purchase items such as tarps and plywood or other supplies to make repairs.

Power Outages:

Many residents may face spoiled food or even appliance damage from long power outages. If you do have a loss of food or appliance damage, check your home insurance policy or small business policy to see if the loss may be covered as the typical homeowner's policy generally provides coverage for spoiled food due to a power outage, if the outage is tied to a covered peril. In the event of a power outage:

• Dispose refrigerated food that's been exposed to temperatures 40⁰ or higher for two hours or more, or that has an unusual odor, color or texture. When in doubt, throw it out!
   
• Discard any medication that's refrigerated if the power is out for more than a day, unless the drug's label says otherwise. If a life depends on the refrigerated medication consult a doctor or pharmacist to see if the medicine can be used until a new supply is available.
   
• If there are questions about coverage from any type of damage (home or auto), please contact your insurance agent and file a claim as soon as possible.
   
• Power outage tips.
   

Media Requests:

All media requests should be sent to Ben Palmer; benjamin.palmer.w9ao@statefarm.com or 480-293-6036.