Allstate to send mobile claims centers, response vehicles to Harvey hit areas

Allstate on Tuesday was getting ready to send multiple mobile claims centers and catastrophe response vehicles into areas affected by Hurricane Harvey, which slammed into the Texas coast on Friday night. The insurer said the units could be sent in as early as this morning.

The mobile claims centers, reminiscent of camping RVs, are self-sufficient units with battery power, satellite communications, laptops and wi-fi. The units will be set up in front of local Home Depot and Lowes stores. Allstate adjusters and claims professionals will work out of the centers to help residents file claims online, the company said.

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Mobile Claim Centers are set up in Colorado Springs in response to the wildfires.

Allstate, one of the top insurers in the state, also plans to deploy its smaller catastrophe response vehicles, vans equipped with laptops and communications equipment that allow adjusters to drive into damaged areas, find policyholders, assess damage, and file claims on the spot.

In addition, said a company spokesman, “we generally take basic supplies like water, gloves, trash bags, etc. to give [out] as well.’

Allstate personnel also will provide accessibility to iPad’s for policyholders that need to reach out to family via video call or social media, the company said.

Other insurers have undergone similar efforts in the days since Harvey was downgraded to a tropical storm. In fact, Travelers, State Farm, USAA and Farmers are among the other insurance carriers with hundreds of adjusters and multiple catastrophe vehicles on the ground, Insurance Journal reports. Damage caused by the category 4 hurricane is now estimated to be as high as $100 billion, making it the nation’s worst natural disaster since 2012’s Hurricane Sandy.

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