March 17--State Farm says it has received FAA approval to test the use of drones.
The Bloomington-based car and home insurer said it might use them to assess roof damage during the claims process and to respond to natural disasters.
The potential use of drones might help State Farm customers "recover from the unexpected as quickly and efficiently as possible," Wensley Herbert, operations vice president of claims, said in a statement.
Initially, the flights will be conducted at private test sites in the Bloomington area. Eventually, testing might occur in "real-world scenarios," State Farm said.
byerak@tribpub.com
