Perspectives

Hurricane Florence: A Letter from John Kett

Published September 13, 2018 - Written by John Kett

3 Min read

Summary

In less than one week, the IAA team is fully prepared to assist our customers affected by Hurricane Florence. IAA has nearly 1,100 acres to store vehicles, over 1,300 trucks to transport vehicles, and more than 400 dedicated team members to assist. Stay up to date on all of the latest Hurricane Florence news by visiting the CAT Updates page.

IAA is Prepared to Assist

September is always the month IAA anticipates weather events, and today is certainly no exception as our team prepares to respond to Hurricane Florence. According to the National Hurricane Center, what started out as a tropical wave on August 28 has challenged the typical patterns of hurricanes and many weather experts. Florence, unfortunately, could have significant effect on parts the east coast and further inland.

We all have great concern for those in the storm’s potential path. Safety of my fellow IAA team members, customers and residents in the potentially affected areas is the number one priority. IAA is part of the overall response effort, and we are committed to helping ensure the residents and the areas can quickly recover and rebuild. In addition, my focus and the focus of the IAA Catastrophe Response Team is also on being fully prepared to assist our customers and their policyholders once the storm has passed.

To say I am impressed with our preparation would be an understatement. I am extremely proud of the thoroughness and speed of our efforts. I know that IAA’s focus on continuous improvement of our catastrophe response has paid off when I see our stats on preparation ahead of the storm.

In less than one week, IAA has over 1,300 trucks to transport vehicles, more than 400 dedicated IAA team members to assist with the effort, and nearly 1,100 acres to store vehicles. Preparation is an everyday focus as demonstrated by over 50% of our capacity secured prior to storm season. The stats above truly illustrate the power of IAA’s operational grit, strength, and the overall breadth of our organization’s capability. I am confident we are prepared to serve our customers in this time of need.

We are continuing to monitor the path of the storm and further prepare, including securing additional land, tow trucks and human resources. We are also preparing for post-storm and the anticipated influx of volume with our global buyer marketing strategy, IAA’s multi-channel auction model, and special financing for our buyers through our sister company AFC.

I am proud to be a part of an organization that understands how critical it is to prepare in catastrophic situations. The entire IAA team is ready to assist our customers, their policyholders, the residents and the potentially affected areas. Again, my thoughts are with those in the storm’s path that they may remain safe and out of harm’s way.

Sincerely,