State Farm mobilized the catastrophe response vehicles on Monday and is waiting for Hurricane Sandy to pass. (Photo from State Farm You Tube channel)

By Stephanie Pawlowski

BLOOMINGTON - State Farm is mobilized and is ready for the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Spokeswoman Holly Anderson said catastrophe response vehicles were mobilized Monday, the call centers are fully staffed and extra agents are ready to respond.

"Our CAT vehicles will be in a staging area in Raleigh, North Carolina until the storm passes a little bit and authorities will let us get into the impacted areas," Anderson said.

State Farm has policy holders in every state on the East Coast, but doesn't actively market in Rhode Island, Massachusetts or Florida.

New York was one of the hardest hit areas when an unprecedented 13-foot surge of seawater, 3 feet above the previous record, caused the worst damage in the 108-year history of the city's subway system. It also forced 200 patients to be evacuated from one hospital.

"We've got agents who are stationed in these communities or who work and live in these communities so we're just going to be in every place there are claims," Anderson said.

There is already a lot of flooding from Sandy, but homeowners would need to buy the national flood insurance program for those claims.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the massive storm is moving across Pennsylvania and is expected to take a sharp turn into western New York by Wednesday morning.

"We're asking people, if they have experienced damage, once they are able to get back and assess the damage to call their agent and have a conversation, let them know they're okay," Anderson said. "Also, people can file claims online. We just want to make sure we're getting people back on their feet quickly."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Stephanie Pawlowski can be reached at Stephanie.Pawlowski@Cumulus.com.