2008-09-13 00:17:01 -

- The Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is prepared and ready for Hurricane Ike to make landfall late Friday night or early Saturday morning along the Texas Gulf Coast.

"Farmers literally has an army of people ready to help after this storm hits," said Larry Pratt, State Executive Director of Texas. "We are prepared to help our customers in

any way possible and we are prepared for the worst-case scenario."

Farmers has more than 1,000 claims people ready to help customers file claims following Hurricane Ike. Hundreds of additional customer care representatives are also geared-up to help handle the increased call volume to Farmers' claims call center, HelpPoint.

"We'll bring in more if we need them," said Paul Quinn, Assistant Vice President of Claims Communications for Farmers Insurance. "We know this will likely be an all-hands-on-deck situation and we are ready."

Farmers has two Mobile Catastrophe Claims (MCC) buses and a dozen Customer Care Claims Vehicles (CCV) staged throughout Texas to be dispatched to the hardest hit areas of Texas. Farmers' Mobile Catastrophe Claims buses are 45' long and are equipped with state-of-the art satellite communications equipment; seven claims stations; water, supplies, laptop and telephone capability, and a built-in grill to serve meals to Farmers' customers and others in need. Farmers Customer Care Claims Vehicles are smaller versions of the buses to assist with claims and supply needs.

Farmers Insurance advises its customers in Ike's projected path to follow all evacuation orders and get to storm shelters as quickly as possible.

Once a storm hits, Farmers Insurance customers with damage should immediately contact their agent or call Farmers' 24-hour-claims hotline, 800-HelpPoint (1-800-435-7764) for immediate assistance.

Spanish-speaking customers should call (877) RECLAMO -- (877) 732-5266.

Foremost Insurance customers should file their claim by calling: 800-527-3907.

Bristol West Insurance customers should file their claim by calling: 1-800-274-7865.

Flood victims who have flood insurance should contact the National Flood Program at www.floodsmart.gov.org

If you have Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) coverage with windstorm damage, contact your agent to report a claim. If your agent can't be reached, you can call (800) 788-8247. For more information, visit www.twia.org.

Farmers Group, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services, an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Farmers(R) is the nation's third-largest Personal Lines Property & Casualty insurance group. Property and casualty products are underwritten and issued by the Farmers Exchanges and their subsidiaries, which Farmers Group, Inc. manages but does not own. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Farmers insurers provide Homeowners, Auto, Business, Life insurance and financial services to more than 10 million households. For more information about Farmers, visit our Web site at www.farmers.com.

Farmers Insurance Group
Michelle Levy, 512-791-7445
michelle.levy@farmersinsurance.com
or
Jerry Davies, 213-400-4459
jerry.davies@farmersinsurance.com
or
David Bishop, 850-391-0853
david.bishop@farmersinsurance.com