BLOOMINGTON, Ill., March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Tornado and high winds are some of the most destructive forces of nature. While tornadoes are frequent in the Great Plains, South, and Midwest, there is no state in the country that isn’t at risk. As the nations’ largest property insurer, State Farm wants to make sure you and your family are prepared for the destructive and potentially deadly force of a tornado.

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Insurance helps policyholders to recover from the unexpected and there may be nothing more unexpected than a tornado. They dramatically disrupt communities by destroying schools, homes, and businesses. In 2014, State Farm paid more than $870 million for claims as a result of tornado and high wind claims. The top 10 states with the most tornado/wind State Farm claims were:  

1. Illinois             10,884 claims
2. Georgia            10,148 claims
3. Texas               7,999 claims
4. Ohio                 6,849 claims
5. Tennessee        6,395 claims
6. Indiana             5,945 claims
7. Michigan          4,762 claims
8. Alabama           4,612 claims
9. Missouri           3,914 claims
10. Kentucky          3,583 claims

While that is a decrease from the nearly $1.3 billion the insurer paid for tornado and wind claims in 2013, severe weather can happen at any time, anywhere and with little warning. Knowing what to do to prepare your family and property for severe weather can be the difference between life and death.

Preparing Your Home a Tornado

• Strengthen your garage. A garage door can be especially vulnerable during high winds so a reinforced, windowless door with vertical bracing is your best option.
• Secure your windows. If you’ve heard you should open windows during a tornado to equalize pressure, you’ve heard wrong! Instead, investigate systems that clip plywood to your windows – no nailing necessary.
• Maintain trees and shrubbery in your yard. Remove weak branches and eliminate trees that could fall on your home during a storm. Falling trees and blowing debris in storms often cause fatalities and severe structural damage.
• Store important documents such as birth certificates, wills, and certificates of ownership in a fire- and water-proof safe in a secure location away from your residence. In the event your home is damaged or destroyed, you will still be able to access vital documents.
• Create and maintain a home inventory to make sure you have the right insurance protection, and in the event of a loss, simplify the claims process.

Preparing Your Family for a Tornado

• Every member from the family should be familiar with your local severe weather warning system and know what to do when a tornado “watch” or “warning” is issued
• Create and practice a plan of action for your family and choose a place for your family to meet if you get separated
• Consider installing a safe room. If you live in an area prone to tornadoes, this might be the best move you can make. It won’t protect your home but will protect you and your family – and that’s what’s truly irreplaceable.
• If you do not have a safe room or a tornado shelter, you should identify what might be the safest area of your home or business during tornadoes. This is usually the basement or a small interior room without windows.

During a Tornado (Inside a Shelter)

• Head to the center of your home or basement, away from windows and preferably under something sturdy like a workbench or staircase or in a bathtub with a mattress over top of you.
• Get to the safest place possible, away from glass that can break and injure or kill you.
• Closing interior doors will also help to compartmentalize the structure and provide more barriers between you and the storm.
• Don’t try to ride out a tornado in a manufactured home. Even manufactured homes with tie-downs overturn in these storms because they have light frames and offer winds a large surface area to push against.

During a Tornado (Outside with No Shelter)

• Never try to outrun a tornado. Instead, leave the vehicle immediately for safe shelter.
• If you can safely get lower than the level of the roadway, such as in a ditch, leave your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands.
• Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location.

Recovering from a Tornado
The period following a natural disaster can be disorienting and dangerous. Below are a few tips that may help relieve some of the uncertainty and help you stay safe, secure your property, and begin the claims process in the aftermath of a major event.

• Use your emergency water or boil tap water before drinking until you are told the water supply is safe. Food that came in contact with water may be contaminated and should be discarded.
• Visually inspect your home for structural damage and take reasonable steps to prevent further damage. For example, board up holes with plywood and cover leaks with plastic sheeting.
• Your insurer will require you to document any damage to your property and provide receipts for recovery-related expenses. Be sure to save all receipts for home repairs, vehicle towing and repairs, temporary housing, meals, and other living expenses

About State Farm:
State Farm and its’ affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 18,000 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve over 82 million policies and accounts – nearly 80 million auto, home, life, health and commercial policies, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 41 on the 2014 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit www.statefarm.com.

AUSTIN, Texas, March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — One in four Texas children lives in poverty, threatening their potential and the state’s continued prosperity. According to State of Texas Children 2015, a new Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) report released today, slight improvements in health care and school nutrition don’t compensate for inadequate investments in education and child protection.

Detailed data are available for every county in Texas. Please contact [email protected] for child well-being data for your county.

“Texas is consistently ranked one of the nation’s worst states for children, but we can make our state the best place for kids if we enact smart public policies now,” said Ann Beeson, Executive Director of CPPP. “With 1 in 11 U.S. kids living in Texas, the future of young Texans will determine the future of our country.”

Key findings include:

• One in four Texas children lives in poverty. For a family of four, that’s less than $24,000 per year. The high child poverty rate combined with a relatively good parental employment rate means that many hard-working Texas parents aren’t earning enough to provide adequately for their kids.
• Despite modest gains for kids, Texas is ranked 49th for the percentage of children with health insurance (13 percent uninsured). Kids are more likely to be uninsured when their parents are uninsured, and Texas continues to have the highest rate of uninsured adults in the nation.
• Nearly two million Texas kids live in households where access to nutritious food is limited and uncertain, threating children’s health and ability to learn. Expanded school nutrition programs have successfully provided more meals to students, keeping kids healthier and helping them learn.

Key policy recommendations:

• Invest sufficiently in public education to meet student needs.
• Expand Pre-K statewide to high quality, full-day programs for currently eligible students.
• Close the Coverage Gap and expand health insurance coverage options for families.
• Provide more support for informal kinship caregivers, and streamline the process for accessing kinship care benefits.
• Raise the state minimum wage and change the state law that prohibits Texas cities from setting their own minimum wage.

Lawmakers have a tremendous opportunity this legislative session to adopt policy solutions that can help children and all Texans. From expanded early childhood education to health insurance coverage that protects children and families, policy solutions are available to lawmakers now that can improve the state for Texas children.

“The decisions legislators make at the Capitol have major implications for our children,” said Jennifer Lee, Research Associate at CPPP and the lead author of State of Texas Children 2015. “It’s time for all of us to stand up for Texas kids.”

State of Texas Children 2015 is part of Texas Kids Count, a project of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, and is supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas. The report was released at a breakfast presentation in Austin today with over 300 child advocates, policy makers and concerned Texans. To watch a livestream or recorded video of the report presentation visit http://nowcastsa.com/blogs/webcast-state-texas-children-2015.  To read the full report, visit http://www.forabettertexas.org/images/KC_2015_SOTCreport_web.pdf.