The phrase “the new normal” has suddenly become ubiquitous—it’s getting hard to open a newspaper, turn a TV channel or click around the Web (is there an app?) without bumping into those words.

To experience firsthand how the insurance industry is responding to the tornado that took out a large swath of Joplin, Mo. on May 22the EF5s path through the city was nearly a mile wide and about 7 miles longwe embedded on June 7...

PC360 went to Joplin, Mo. last week and spent the day following agents and catastrophe claims reps from State Farm Insurance. This is what we saw.

PC360 went to Joplin, Mo. last week and spent the day following agents and catastrophe claims reps from State Farm Insurance. This is what we saw.

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).

To experience firsthand how the insurance industry is responding to the tornado that took out a large swath of Joplin, Mo. on May 22, I “embedded” on June 7 with State Farm Insurance, meeting with a local agent, two catastrophe claims representatives and an auto-lines specialist.

Watch as we tour the showfloor and meet the elected leader of a country; hear about a solution for workers' comp "predators"; and learn about a new program to embed fraud specialists within a risk department.

My friends at the Insurance Public Relations Council invited me to speak at their spring conference last week, held at the iconic MetLife building on Park Avenue in New York.