We go through a lot of pains to get down there and we want to make sure we can start servicing our customers immediately. After the storm subsides, the company will arrive in the affected area and begin servicing policyholders. If all damage assessment can be done on-site, a policyholder will most likely have a check in their hands within hours of inspection. Travelers will normally truck the supplies to the catastrophe site if it's east of the Mississippi River. If the disaster is west of the Mississippi, the cargo is normally shipped by air.
Many insurance companies use mobile homes as servicing centers after a disaster.
The size of the team deployed depends on the extent of the catastrophe. When catastrophe activity is light, the team helps with other claims activities, such as supporting the state claims operations, conducting inspections, and handling flood claims. State Farm insurance has one mobile catastrophe unit that it uses in the wake of larger catastrophes. The company will also rent mobile homes and commercial space to process claims of the large number of policyholders who are affected by the storm. They typically advertise on radio and in the newspapers to spread the word.