Veterans Deploy with Disaster Responders

Team Rubicon, a nonprofit organization, unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams after disasters, all while providing veterans with a new sense of purpose, community and identity.

In 2015, Travelers recognized Team Rubicon with the first Travelers Excellence in Community Resilience Award. The relationship continued when, in 2016, Travelers began a three-year, $1 million commitment as the exclusive insurance sponsor of Team Rubicon’s Mobile Engagement Team, which travels across the United States to provide large-scale training events, recruit volunteers and establish relationships with state and local emergency management agencies.

In 2019, we renewed our support for the Mobile Training Center through 2021 with an additional $1 million in support.

From 2017 to 2019, the Mobile Training Center visited nearly 100 cities, including stops at Travelers offices in Braintree (Massachusetts), Denver, Hartford and St. Louis; interacted with more than 7,500 people; and trained more than 2,000 members in nearly 200 courses, including core operations, damage assessment and instructor training.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, outside of disaster response, the Mobile Training Center continued virtual trainings in 2021. More than 15,500 community members engaged in more than 41,000 virtual training courses and completed more than 34,700 hours of training. In 2021, the Mobile Training Center also trained 310 volunteers through Disaster Training Camps in Georgia, Texas and California and provided just-in-time training for over 200 volunteers to immediately assist survivors of Hurricane Ida and the Kentucky tornadoes with necessary home repairs.

Given our commitment to supporting our military veterans and helping communities recover from disasters, our collaboration with Team Rubicon is a natural fit.

Community Benefits

• Each year, Team Rubicon helps thousands of military veterans recapture their sense of purpose, helping to mitigate mental health challenges.
• Individuals who are faced with home damage following a natural disaster receive free assistance from Team Rubicon to help them recover sooner.
• Disasters often disproportionately impact low-income communities of color. The greatest asset of low-income homeowners tends to be their home. And according to the Urban Institute, home equity makes up a disproportionate amount of overall net worth for Black households. After a disaster, however, housing values drastically decrease. When Team Rubicon rebuilds a home, the value is restored, giving the resident more financial security and potential for upward economic mobility.

Travelers Benefits

• Support of Team Rubicon provides visibility for Travelers among veterans and their families, an important talent pipeline for the company.
• Supporting organizations that respond to crises helps ensure that communities, including those with Travelers customers, receive resources to mitigate further damage and enables faster recovery, potentially reducing costs for the company.

Related Resources

• Travelers Institute® Webinar: Leading Through Crisis: A Conversation with Team Rubicon Co-Founder & CEO Jake Wood