Ending a Double Tragedy

Founded in response to the tragedies of 9/11, the mission of the First Responder Task Force (FRTF) is to serve those who put themselves in harm’s way. Coming from a family of First Responders, Joseph Caldwell – Chief Executive Officer, FRTF – watched grievingly that day as 414 First Responders perished. The mass casualty of First Responders on 9/11 shed light on a double tragedy — fine print buried in their insurance policies. These policies denied or delayed payments for exclusions such as “Acts of War”, “Acts of Terror”, Hazardous Duty”, and “Line of Duty” — the last two of which could affect First Responders every day. Joseph discovered that these exclusions impacted a devastating number of the victims’ families who were already grief-stricken with the loss of their loved ones. Something had to be done.

On the heels of that conviction, in 2010, Joseph and two long-time friends – Nathan Wells and Jeffrey Magg – partnered with the Armed Forces Benefit Association (AFBA) — a non-profit member benefit association that was created in the basement of the Pentagon and has covered our nation’s Military since 1947. Through AFBA, this specialized coverage – once only accessible to Military personnel – was extended to First Responders after 9/11. Powered by their partnership with AFBA, the trio took to the roads, department-to-department, in efforts to ensure First Responders were aware of and had access to the best coverage for themselves and their families. With one tablet for the three to share, and out of a heart driven towards preventing the devastation of First Responders’ families struggling to receive benefits, the vision for the First Responder Task Force (FRTF) was born.

Fast-forward to 2024 — The First Responder Task Force is AFBA’s “boots on the ground” and exclusive distribution channel ensuring First Responders and their families have access to no-exclusion and no-restriction survivor benefits. The strength of their partnership – now running over a decade – comes from their joint unwavering commitment to provide peace, certainty, and security to those who deserve it most. Anchored by the mission of serving those who put themselves in harm’s way, together they’ve covered more than 500,000 First Responders and their families across 7,000+ agencies nationally. The vision of the First Responder Task Force is to reach hundreds of thousands of First Responders year-in and year-out.

FRTF Testimonial

“It was September 17, 2021. Lt. John Stewart was responding to an assistance call, for someone who was in a vehicle chase. He then exited his vehicle and tried to divert the vehicle away from two individuals who were out in the yard. The driver turned his vehicle toward Lt. John Stewart and struck him head-on. When that call was made from a representative from the Task Force, I calmed down. The first thing they said was, ‘First of all, we’re sorry for your loss. This is how we’re going to help.’ The First Responder Task Force has my recommendation.” – Chief Joseph Cooper, Lake City Police Department.

When serving an agency, FRTF’s first task is to provide every eligible First Responder with a $5,000 survivor benefit at no cost to the individual or the agency – paid for and provided by AFBA. This benefit is in force 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on or off duty. All sworn, non-sworn, paid, volunteer, administrative, reserve, and other department personnel are eligible for this $5,000 LODD survivor benefit.

FRTF’s second task is to brief the agency regarding the additional survivor benefits now available to First Responders through AFBA. “Our job is to educate & inform, not to sell. If someone needs additional coverage, great, and if they don’t need it, great. Either way, our job and commitment is to serve the First Responders in that agency with the $5,000 LODD survivor benefit they deserve, issued at no-cost.” says Nathan Wells, Chief Development Officer, FRTF. Their commitment is evident, as over $1,000,000 from these benefits have been carefully allocated to families who have suffered a tragic loss.

While FRTF’s vision is to reach every First Responder in the nation, the sad reality is that LODDs will occur before FRTF is able to educate them on the survivor benefits available through AFBA. Many times, this leaves their families financially vulnerable when tragedy strikes. When the founders of FRTF recognizing this gap, it led to the creation of the First Responder Benefit Association (FRBA). It was founded by FRTF to fill that gap of financial hardship that can often burden families of fallen First Responders. The First Responder Task Force funds ALL of FRBA’s administrative and operational expenses so that 100% of public donations go directly to aiding those families. To-date, they’ve hand-delivered over $450,000 to hurting and mourning families across our nation. With an average of 21 First Responders perishing every month, their donor-driven impact has just begun.

FRBA Testimonial

“FRBA helped us financially, tremendously. We met them not knowing that we would receive a donation. Without that contribution, we would have had to completely uproot our lives and change our living situation and how we went about our everyday lives. It would have drastically affected our future.” – Cat Jumper, Beneficiary and daughter of Sergeant Jumper

Agency leadership can learn more about the First Responder Task Force, the resources available to their LEO personnel, and the next steps to being served with the $5,000 LODD survivor benefit on their website – www.FRTF.us.