Farmers Insurance Group® Arizona State Executive Director Frank Soldano, agents, District Managers, and Farmers State Office employees, will be joined by Arizona Director of Insurance Christina Urias, State Senator John Nelson, of Phoenix, and public safety dignitaries on Thursday, May 13th, to launch the Farmers Insurance Arizona Wildfire Awareness and Preparedness Week. A morning press conference will be held at 10:00 a.m. on the south lawn of the Arizona State Senate building, 1700 West Washington in Phoenix.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080605/LATH062) Media Conference Details: WHO: Christina Urias - Director, Arizona Department of Insurance John Nelson - State Senator, Arizona Senate, Phoenix Frank Soldano - State Executive Director, Farmers Insurance Launch of Wildfire Awareness and Preparedness Week to raise public awareness of the threat wildfires pose to Arizona state residents and to encourage preparedness through appropriate clearance and abatement practices. Wildfire Preparation Information Packets will be given at the WHAT: conference. WHEN: Thursday, May 13 10:00 a.m. WHERE: Arizona State Senate - South Lawn 1700 West Washington Phoenix Also at the Capital will be a Farmers' Customer Claim Vehicle (CCV).
Since 1990, wildfires across the United States have caused an average of $500 million in insured losses per year. In Arizona, wildfires continue to be a major concern for local residents and public officials. In 2009, the National Interagency Coordination Center ranked Arizona as the 7th most active state, in terms of the number of wildfires, with 2,371 recorded wildfires in 2009.
"We must all remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent wildfires," said Mr. Soldano. "As fire season begins in Arizona, we want to thank and recognize the key leaders in government and public safety who work everyday to protect Arizonans against this menace and to assure them that Farmers Insurance will be here to help Arizona families and communities rebuild should a catastrophe occur."
The Farmers CCV that will also be part of the media briefing is one of 39 trailers pulled by an SUV that are deployed to disaster sites throughout the United States to help customers and non-customers alike.
"This vehicle features the latest in telecommunications systems to enable ongoing communications before, during and after a catastrophe. This is just one of many resources Farmers mobilizes to assist the community and our customers during an emergency. The CCV also carries supplies such as water and food for those impacted," explained Soldano.
Farmers is a trade name and may refer to Farmers Group, Inc. or the Farmers Exchanges, as the case may be. Farmers Group, Inc., a management and holding company, along with its subsidiaries, is wholly owned by the Zurich Financial Services Group. The Farmers Exchanges are three reciprocal insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, owned by their policyholders, and managed by Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information about Farmers, visit our Web site at www.farmers.com.
Contact: Jerry Davies 213-400-4459jerry.davies@farmers.com Luis Sahagun 818-584-0574luis.sahagun@farmers.com
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