To experience how the insurance industry is responding to thetornado that took out a large swath of Joplin, Mo. on May 22—theEF5's path through the city was nearly a mile wide and about 7miles long— I “embedded” on June 7 with State Farm Insurance so Icould witness the company's concerted response to the devastatingstorm that left more than 150 dead and 1,000 injured.

During my visit, I met with a local State Farm agent, KarenRutledge, to hear how her agency has been dealing with thisenormous catastrophe—and the profound impact it has had on herclients.

“The people walking in, the phone calls—it was justoverwhelming. And the stories [were] so emotionally devastatingthat it was just very challenging for all of us to try to give themthe comfort they needed, besides the help they needed—in the timelymanner that we're accustomed to taking care of our customers,”Rutledge says, describing what the first 24 hours were like afterthe storm.

Rutledge, who has been an agent for 25 years—and is both themother and daughter of an agent—was actually in Chicago when thetornado struck. She raced back to get to her clients—and technologyplayed a crucial role in connecting her while on the road.

“On my ride back, the part of the [trip] that my parents weredriving, I actually was able from my Blackberry to access thevoicemails people had sent me and file the claims on my iPadthrough State Farm's application—so I was doing that in the carwhile my mother was frantically trying to get me back to where Ineeded to be,” she says.

Related: Joplin Tornado Aftermath: A PC360 Slideshow

State Farm has a “Buddy System” that it can implement duringdisasters—where agents in unaffected areas offer their help totheir colleagues in the center of the storm. And this outside aidplayed a critical role in making sure Rutledge and her threefull-time employees were able to handle the inevitable surge ofclient interactions in the wake of the destruction.

“I'm sure I would have had a meltdown by now if I had not hadthe help of those State Farm partners,” Rutledge tells me withemotion as we sit in her office. “These are agents willing to walkaway from their office and the way they make a living to come andhelp somebody else.”

Even before Rutledge arrived back from Chicago Monday morning,fellow State Farm agents had set up a generator at her office—whichwas near the tornado's path but had been spared any damage. “Sowhen I got here at about 11:30 on Monday morning, my team had powerto at least operate the computers, to be able to take the calls,and help people coming in—which was just awesome. It was just hugefor us to be able to have a place for people to come that wasfunctioning and be able to help them.”

Some of the State Farm buddies had claims backgrounds and werehelping to write advance checks to customers. And the extra bodieshelped make sure that every client who came through the doorquickly was able to quickly have a person-to-personconversation.

Related: Joplin Aftermath: A Reporter's Notebook and VideoDiary

Asked about some of the stories that most stuck out amidst allthe turmoil and trauma, Rutledge says, “There's just been so manypeople who were actually in their homes—nothing left—and I askedthem where they were in the home and over and over I have heard itwas the bathtub. Word has gotten out over the years that the safestroom in your house is possibly the bathroom. So many stories ofpeople riding out the storm in their bathtub and that being allthat was left and not even in the same place in the house—maybe itwas in the yard. It's just amazing, seriously, that there were notmore [fatalities].”

And how will the tornado impact the agency's business goingforward? “I think now when we talk to people about the coverages ontheir homeowners, and we talk about here's what we estimate withthe tools we have on what it's going to cost to rebuild—that we nowhave the experience to know the tools we work with are legitimate.And [clients] need to seriously consider this even though [they]think, “Oh well, I could only sell it for this”—which has nothingto do with the cost of reconstruction. And I think people willrealize that those [increased coverages] are worth considering.

The other lesson both insureds and prospective policyholders arelikely to take away? “That catastrophe does happen. And now we knowbecause we've all experienced it, and it can be us, and it was us.So we need to be prepared in our coverages and everything thatinsurance can provide for us.”

Rutledge has been laboring literally non-stop since the stormstruck. And to me, the level of caring she demonstrated forher clients was remarkable—truly epitomizing State Farm's “Like aGood Neighbor” slogan. Take this story, as an example.

“There was an elderly couple. I didn't have their home insured,but I did have their cars insured. And I could not make contactwith them. They did not have a cellphone. None of the land lineswere working—and I knew from their address they had the potentialof being in the middle of it. So I decided to go find them, andthey were at their house with one wall standing. Neither car wasdrivable—they were buried in the debris.

“They had a little U-Haul truck next to the house and were kindof camping there with the dog. It was so warm that day, and they,though not in good health, were trying to dig through their things.He had cut his hand had not had a tetanus shot. We all decided itwould be good if he went down to the Memorial Hall where they hadset up a triage. So I put him in the car and took him down thereand stayed while they treated him—cooled him off, removed debrisfrom his eye. I took him back, and he just looked so muchbetter—and his wife was so relieved.”

Before I left, I asked Rutledge if there was any way to findsomething positive amidst such trauma. “This is an experience thatyou hope you never have, but you certainly learn a lot from—and itcertainly helps build your relationship with yourcustomers.”