State Farm gets nod for tollway road patrol
NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT December 13, 2012 4:14PM
Updated: February 12, 2013 2:17AM
DOWNERS GROVE — The Illinois Tollway’s Finance Administration Operations Committee has recommended State Farm as sponsor of its Highway Emergency Lane Patrol Program that offers roadway assistance to customers in need.
The contract with Travelers Marketing LLC creates a sponsorship agreement with the Bloomington-based insurance company, providing the tollway with a three-year sponsorship fee of $1.8 million in addition to three, one-year renewal options. The H.E.L.P. Program costs the Tollway about $2 million annually, officials said.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better partner for our popular H.E.L.P. Program,” said Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur. “In addition to offsetting nearly one third of the program’s operating costs, State Farm is a name that many of our customers know and trust — and that’s important to us.”
As sponsor, the State Farm logo will appear on employee uniforms and on H.E.L.P. trucks that travel throughout the 286-mile tollway system, as well as on signage providing *999 cellular service and program information.
The H.E.L.P. Program operates 13 trucks throughout the tollway system, Monday through Friday, from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., providing an array of services including changing flat tires, charging dead batteries, adding coolant and fuel, assisting with incidents and arranging for tows.
In 2011, the trucks patrolled more than 1.2 million miles and helped more than 33,000 tollway drivers.
“Helping people recover from the unexpected is at the heart of the State Farm mission,” said Tim Van Hoof, State Farm assistant vice president of marketing. “The H.E.L.P. Program shares our good-neighbor philosophy and underscores the State Farm commitment to safety initiatives that assist motorists.”
