Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a day in Joplin, Mo., with members of the State Farm team—witnessing the company's concerted response to the devastating tornado that ripped through the city, leaving more than 140 dead and 1,000 injured (see my Reporter's Notebook on page 6).

While the insurance industry is too often viewed as the “bad guys” by the general public, that's definitely not the case in Joplin right now, I can say with total confidence, based on all I heard and saw.

Indeed, after the first responders who risked their lives in rescue efforts, local insurance agents and the claims adjusters who have arrived from all over the country are some of the most popular people in the city—seen as white-hat-wearing heroes who are there doing all they can, 24/7, to help citizens reassemble their shattered lives.

Jasmine Coleman is one of the State Farm employees with whom I spent some time. She's a young, caring and charismatic catastrophe field claim representative, and we visited a policyholder's home that had been leveled by the EF-5 killer (fortunately, the family survived in its basement safe room). While we toured the property (with the owner's permission), she relayed the following interaction with another policyholder who had lost her home:

“I happened to be out getting groceries [while wearing my red State Farm shirt], and a lady came up to me and asked me if I was an agent. I said, 'No, Ma'am, I'm not. Do you need to get in touch with your agent? I can absolutely assist you with that.' And she said, 'No, I really just want to tell you thank you.' From the moment she encountered a State Farm representative, they were nothing but kind to her, and she just wanted to express her gratitude for all that we'd done. To me, that was just awesome.”

Jasmine's colleague, Steve Simpson, another catastrophe field claim representative, told the story of a policyholder who had no idea just how much protection her coverage offered. “There was a woman who slept in her car for the first week—because she didn't know additional living expense was available for her. When she finally came to the office, I was able to get money in her hand right away and help her find temporary housing that night—that's one I'll never forget.”

Karen Rutledge—who has been a State Farm agent in Joplin for 25 years (and is both the mother and daughter of an agent)—has been laboring literally non-stop since the storm struck. Her level of caring for her clients is remarkable—truly epitomizing State Farm's “Like a Good Neighbor” slogan.

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

“They had a little U-Haul truck next to the house and were 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 and had not had a tetanus shot. We all decided it would be good if he went down to the Memorial Hall where they had set up a triage. So I put him in the car and took him down there and stayed while they treated him—cooled him off, removed debris from his eye. I took him back, and he just looked so much better—and his wife was so relieved.”

I had my own personal encounter, too, with residents' positive feelings toward anyone involved with insurance. I was filming by myself in a neighborhood that had been absolutely flattened—the horizon was visible in all directions because not a single house was left standing.

A pickup truck with two burly men rolled to a stop next to me. They shot me some menacing looks and wanted to know if I was with “the damn media.” Uh-oh. I told them I was—with an insurance publication. Their mood immediately changed. “Insurance?” said one. “My mother-in-law lost her house, and 'you guys' have been great.” They wished me a good day and drove off.

Insurance, when practiced right, as it in Joplin, can even protect non-policyholders.

Bryant Rousseau

Editor in Chief

Special Reports /

Insurance In Action: A Day In Joplin With State Farm

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