Farmers Insurance Group Assists Displaced Victims of the California Wildfires

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The weeks of November 9th and 16th proved to be devastating for many people in Southern California, as the Tea Fire, Sayre Fire, and Triangle Complex Fire burned approximately 43,479 acres in the communities of Montecito, Sylmar, Corona, Yorba Linda, Brea, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, and Anaheim. Thousands of residents were evacuated, and approximately 1,239 homes were destroyed and 113 were damaged as a result of these wildfires. Many Southern Californians tragically lost all that they had during these two frightening weeks.

One of the silver linings in this cloud came from Farmers Insurance Group, as they deployed their Mobile Catastrophe Claims buses (MCC's) and Customer Care Team Vehicles (CCV's) to the affected communities. Within hours of each fire, Farmers sent these vehicles to neighborhoods where homes were destroyed and damaged, giving residents a place to come to receive a warm meal, water, emergency supplies, free phone and computer connections to contact loved ones, and direction on how to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of these tragedies. Farmers Claims Representatives immediately issued checks on-site to its customers so that they could pay for lodging, clothes and toiletries, and started the claims process to repair and rebuild their homes.

Residents who were not Farmers' customers received the same care and treatment, as they were provided with a meal, emergency supplies and access to the computers and phone banks. Farmers Claims Representatives were happy to give them advice about the claims process and gave them direction on how to get their claims started with their insurance carriers.

Farmers Insurance Group's Mobile Catastrophe Claims buses are 45 feet in length, and are the only diesel-powered claims buses in the insurance industry which have a built-in data satellite systems that enable them to service their customers at the scene of any natural disaster or catastrophe. This system can support up to 70 adjusters working on-line at any given time with 7 claims stations built into the buses. In addition to this, they have built-in GPS navigation, a security system, a noise-reduction generator, and in-motion satellite television that allows Farmers personnel to track inclement weather and news reports when other forms of communication are not available. Farmers currently has two buses in the United States, stationed at the Farmers National Catastrophe Claims Center in Olathe, Kansas, and they can be deployed anywhere in the United States. Plans to build additional MCC's are in the works.

In addition to the MCC's, Farmers also has 35 Customer Care Team Vehicles (CCV's), which consist of a Chevrolet Suburban or GMC Yukon XL and a trailer. The trailer is transformed into a claims-command center at the site of a disaster, and can also be deployed within hours to affected neighborhoods. When not being used as a claims center, Farmers uses these trailers as a display at community events to promote Farmers and at events and programs that Farmers sponsors such as m.i.l.k (Managing Information on Lost Kids) and the March of Dimes. These 35 CCV's are located in 29 of Farmers' core states, and can be deployed wherever they are needed.

When a natural disaster occurs, Farmers Insurance Group notifies its customers via the media and through their agents, letting them know where the Mobile Claims Center and Customer Care Vehicles will be located. Farmers also has a national claims number 1-800-HELPPOINT that customers can call anytime for assistance following a disaster.