Farmers, Zurich Display Mobile Response Units During Golf Classic in New Orleans

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies and Zurich Financial Services displayed their new Mobile Catastrophe Claims buses (MCCs) and 10 of their 35 Customer Care Vehicles (CCVs) in and around the New Orleans TPC golf course during the Zurich Classic. The vehicles were designed and built in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"The mobile units enable the Farmers' Catastrophe Corps to respond immediately and effectively and are the center point for handling claims and servicing customers," explained Paul N. Hopkins, CEO of Farmers. "The buses and customer care vehicles have the most state-of-the-art equipment available anywhere in the United States."

The diesel-powered MCC buses are 45 feet long and are equipped with built-in data satellite, GPS navigation, a security/safety system, noise-reduction generator, and in-motion satellite TV, which allows command center personnel to track inclement weather and news reports when all other forms of communication are unavailable. The buses are stationed at Farmers National Catastrophe Claims Center in Olathe, Kansas, and can be dispatched to any catastrophe in the contiguous United States.

Each of the 35 CCVs consists of a Chevrolet Suburban or a GMC Yukon XL and a trailer, which becomes a claims command center when the unit reaches the scene of a disaster. The CCV trailers will be housed in Farmers' 29 core states and are available to deploy to any disaster in any of the contiguous United States.

The CCVs perform double duty. When not being used as a claims center, the SUV and trailer can be used as a booth at community events to promote Farmers, its programs, and corporate sponsors, such as m.i.l.k. (Managing Information on Lost Kids) and the March of Dimes.