Farmers Insurance Mobile Command Center Bus and Mock Tornado House Featured at First-Ever National Tornado Preparedness Summit in Oklahoma City

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies® is proud to participate in the first-ever National Tornado Preparedness Summit March 11-13 in Oklahoma City at the Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City.

"Farmers is pleased to announce that one of its Mobile Claims Center Buses (MCC), and a specially built Tornado House will be featured at the Summit," noted Farmers Oklahoma State Executive Director John Lucido.

"The MCC, a 46 foot mobile vehicle, is one of three deployed immediately to disaster locations throughout the U.S. to help customers and non-customers alike. It carries state-of-the-art satellite communications equipment, a grill for cooking meals for up to 1,500 disaster victims a day at the site, weather satellite equipment, 30 satellite laptops and satellite phones for use by victims, and water and supplies," Lucido added.

"The MCC becomes the center of activity at any disaster site and has the capability of issuing checks to customers on site to help them get into temporary housing when needed, and to purchase necessities following a disaster," said DeWayne Merritt, Farmers Oklahoma Personal Lines Growth Consultant. "Attendees and the public are welcome to come by and tour the MCC which will be located on Robinson Street, just north of the Cox Convention Center."

"I believe one of the highlights of the Tornado Summit will be the Tornado House, which Farmers Insurance helped create and is sponsoring," explains Kim Decker, Farmers Oklahoma Manager of Government and Industry Affairs, who serves as co-chair of the Oklahoma Catastrophe Response Task Force and co-chair of the National Tornado Summit. "I would encourage every attendee to visit the Tornado House. Of course, we also hope that those who experience the Tornado House will take a moment to remember and honor all those who have been directly impacted by the violent forces of a tornado."

"We worked with some great partners to create the Tornado House, including TRILINK Restoration Group and some very talented students at Lindsey+Asp," said Farmers Field Claims Supervisor Chris Reinke. "The Tornado House is wooden structure 10' X 12' in size. Those wishing to experience what a tornado might be like will enter the house through the front door, where audio, video and other special effects will then create the sights, sounds and feelings of being in a home about to be hit by a tornado. We hope to have created an experience that participants won't soon forget."

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is the country's 3rd largest insurer of both personal lines passenger automobile and homeowners insurance, and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and nearly 24,000 employees.

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.