The Connecticut Highways Assistance Motorist Patrol has received funding assistance from
State Farm to sustain operations over the next three years.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker announced over the weekend that the insurer will shoulder Connecticut’s $495,000 annual share each year for three years to match a $4.5 million federal grant to support the program.
State Farm will get some significant brand exposure in return.Through the agreement, the program will be renamed CTDOT State Farm Safety Patrol, and the firm’s logo will be attached to road signs and associated transportation department trucks.
The patrol program’s 28 employees will continue working as state employees, patrolling Interstates 84, 91, 95, 291, and 395, as well as Route 2, Route 7, Route 8 and the Merritt Parkway portion of Route 15.
“I think entrepreneurship should be celebrated, and we’re always looking for opportunities to bring in non-tax revenue,” Malloy said to local media outlet myrecordjournal.com.
Redeker added, “It takes a lot of partners to keep our drivers safe and our roads safe.”
State Farm’s sponsorship comes after Connecticut announced it is looking for partners to maintain the program following a projected $5 billion state budget deficit in the next two years.
Apart from Connecticut, the insurer also sponsors Safety Patrols in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Related stories:
Ex-State Farm Insurance agent tries to keep insurer from leaving city
State proposes regulation of use of profession and education factors to quote insurance
