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Think identity theft mostly happens to older people? Or to high-income earners? The truth is that identity thieves focus their efforts wherever the opportunities are, and there are plenty of opportunities across most age groups.

Identity theft complaints are on the rise, with 16 percent of consumers filing reports, up from the previous year, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s 2016 Consumer Sentinel Network Databook.

Tax- or wage-related fraud was the most common reported identity-related fraud, accounting for 45 percent of consumer complaints, followed by credit card fraud and phone or utilities fraud representing 16 and 10 percent of complaints, respectively.

Most Affected Groups

For our nation’s service members, identity theft remains the number one complaint, unfortunately. And while in past years consumers of all ages reported incidents of the crime at relatively similar rates, the numbers now paint a different picture. Consumers between the ages of 40 and 69 are reporting identity theft at higher rates, suggesting a growing awareness of this crime—and vulnerability.

Here’s a look at three groups identity thieves target and why.

Seniors

More seniors are reporting identity theft. Consumers between the ages of 40-49 and 50-59 accounted for 15 percent and 24 percent of complaints, respectively, both up from the previous year. And the numbers for seniors are likely to be even higher, according to an AARP survey which found that “victims 55 years of age and older were significantly less likely to acknowledge that they were defrauded than victims under 55.” All-too-common scams include tax identity theft, medical identity theft and fraud committed by nursing home and long-term care staff

Military Personnel

Service members are reporting identity theft at a higher rate—30 percent—than the previous year. And they’re experiencing more familiar fraud and new-account fraud than most populations, according to the 2015 Identity Fraud Report from Javelin Strategy & Research. The military has used personally identifying information (PII), such as Social Security numbers, as general identifiers for personnel, which increases theft risks. Moreover, deployed military personnel who do not place an active duty alert on their credit files are easy targets for friends or family members.

College Students

Identity theft complaints among college-age students may have dropped slightly, but this group is four times more likely to have their identity stolen through familiar fraud than other populations, according to the 2015 Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research. Much of the issue is likely due to awareness of behaviors that may put them at risk, as well as limited understanding of the costs and challenges of identity theft. For example, students are often very aware of computer security, but they share personal information widely and may not understand the importance of locking away or shredding important documents and IDs, and regularly checking their credit reports.

 

Policyholders who suspect they are victims of fraud should contact Farmers Alliance at 620-241-2200 to find out how they can work with a fraud specialist to help manage and protect their identity.

F-4 Tornado Destroys Family Farm, Farmers Alliance is Right There to Help

On May 25, 2016, a category F-4 tornado swept across central Kansas. Multiple homes were damaged – even railroad tracks were destroyed that night. Fortunately, nobody was injured.

The tornado, described as a half-mile-wide wedge, just barely skirted south of Chapman, a town of about 1,400, but struck several farmhouses in Dickinson County. One of those farmsteads belonged to a Farmers Alliance customer. It was a total loss.

Prior to the storm, the farm, situated on 500 acres, included a lovely 1944 square-foot home, 6 barns, 3 machine sheds, 3 other buildings, and 2 center pivots. After the storm, as you can see from the photo, none of the buildings were left standing, and the equipment was heavily damaged, or missing.

For Ken and Deb Wood, the place they had called home since 1993 was gone — all the machinery except one tractor, all the farm trucks and a semi truck, and all their personal vehicles except the pickup Mr. Wood was driving at the time of the storm.

Where to start?

With a total loss like this, one might expect it would take a long time to get the claim settled, let alone rebuild. There are several steps in the process, but it all begins with the initial review of the property by the claims adjuster. And while the entire rebuilding process would take many months, that initial review – and making payment to the customer – was completed in just a matter of days (see infographic).

 

 

While each loss has its own timeline, in this case, and even with a loss of this magnitude, the review was completed and payments were provided to our customer in just 7 days. Those payments allowed them to begin rebuilding their lives – finding new temporary housing, replacing items lost in the storm, and making plans for construction of their new home.

Finding a Place to Stay

The family needed an immediate place to stay during the rebuilding. A member of the Chapman community heard that the couple lost their house and they had a two story farm house that belonged to a deceased family member.  The house was fully furnished including towels in the closet, dishes in the cabinet, beds that were made and ready to sleep in.  All the family had to do was put food in the refrigerator and cabinets – and, some friends and family already did that for them. They walked through the door and continued to live there as if it was their home.

The Rebuilding Process

Over the past year, the “new” farmstead has been built from the ground up. It would take several months to clean up the debris and other remains from the vicious storm. New construction began in October, starting with pouring the basement.

 

Moving In

The Wood family was able to move into their new home during the first week of May 2017.

Ken explained, “We were in shock the first month or two and look back and understand why it was so important for Rich to be there to help us get all the pieces put together and how it is a process of making sure things are done right and step by step. We have told many people that our insurance company is Farmers Alliance when asked, because others are still in the middle of working through the process while we are done and in a new house.  The others are looking into Farmers Alliance because of how well our claim was processed. Everything was rebuilt in less than a year.”

The Woods’ Farmers Alliance agent, Morris Edwards, owner of the Edwards Agency in Chapman, KS, had this to say about the claims department. “I was very pleased with the response from Rich Cunningham, and all of the claims department. Not only were they quickly on site, they kept in contact with the family until the entire claim was settled. This is how we would all want to be treated at time of loss.”

Welcome home, Wood family!

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Why choose Farmers Alliance?

At Farmers Alliance, we’ve provided excellent claims service for more than 125 years, and we are committed to continuing that legacy. We take our responsibility very seriously, and stand ready to help when you need us.

If you’re already a Farmers Alliance customer, thank you! We look forward to serving you if the need arises. If you’re not a Farmers Alliance customer yet, contact a Farmers Alliance agent near you!

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The American Red Cross exists to provide compassionate care to those in need. Through a network of generous donors, volunteers and employees, they share a mission of preventing and relieving suffering, here at home and around the world, through five key service areas: Disaster Relief, Supporting America’s Military Families, Lifesaving Blood, Health and Safety Services, and International Services.

5.6 million blood donations are collected by the Red Cross each year! 3.3 million generous volunteer blood donors roll up a sleeve each year.

Blood donors are ordinary people – high school students, factory and office workers, business executives, parents and grandparents, and people from every walk of life, including the insurance professionals at Farmers Alliance!

Farmers Alliance has several employees that give blood whenever the truck comes around. JoLynn Stout (Human Resources) is the company blood drive coordinator. She promotes the drive, and recruits employees to sign up and give blood. Lunch is also provided to Red Cross Staff and employees.

Sandy Baldwin (Claims) is a frequent donor, and had this to say about giving. “Through personal experiences over the years, I’ve learned first-hand the importance of having a reliable blood supply available to those in need. Since Farmers Alliance has the Red Cross Bloodmobile come to our office, I really can’t think of a reason not to participate in the drive, or at least to give it a try. In most cases, giving blood is quick and easy. It just seems to be the right thing to do!”

If you would like to give to the Red Cross or would like to donate blood. Visit their site here.

Courtesy of The Insurance Journal

Kansas recorded a 22 percent increase in traffic fatalities in 2016 compared with the previous year, and one state trooper says distracted driving is the main reason.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says 432 people died in traffic accidents in 2016.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the National Safety Council says traffic fatalities increased 6 percent nationwide in 2016.

Kansas Highway Patrol trooper Chad Crittenden says distracted driving is the key reason for the increase. He says he recently watched 14 drivers while he was stopped at a busy Wichita intersection — and 11 of the drivers went through the intersection either talking or texting on their phones.

Others say lower gas prices also are a factor, because more drivers are on the roads.

For the past 44 years, Farmers Alliance has put on an Education Luncheon to honor

employees’ hard work furthering their education. This year’s luncheon was held on February 15th, 2017. The Guests of Honor were employees who completed IIA/CPCU courses or designations in 2016. Attendees enjoyed a pasta buffet catered by Knackies of McPherson.

Here are some Fun Facts for 2016 Award Year:

• There are currently 40 employees that hold the CPCU designation.
• In 2016, there were 46 employees who sat for 119 IIA/CPCU exams.
• Of those exams 40 employees successfully completed 87 exams.
• Employee-Wide Pass Ratio for 2016: 73%
• 21/46 employees completed at least one designation.
• 38 employees successfully completed an IIA/CPCU course in 2016.

Kelly Kostelnik, Carri Brobst, and Teri Russell shared their education experiences with the group.

Teri Russell had this to say about completing her CPCU.

“I was encouraged on a regular basis to complete my CPCU. I took the hardest classes first, Law and Accounting. With those behind me, you’d think that finishing up would be a breeze, but life is happening all the time. I passed my last exam in May of 2016, and attended the conferment in Hawaii last September. Way beyond the knowledge that I’ve gained, I also gained the sense of accomplishment in completing a tough goal. Whether I will actually use it in my job or not– it will make me a better employee, a better citizen, and a better person.”

President Joe Brossard talked about the partnership with Central Christian College in McPherson, KS.  Some of our CPCU recipients teach insurance courses to college students.

Congratulations to all award recipients!

 

Check out the photo booth photos from the KAIA Convention on our Facebook Page!

 

If you go downstairs to the Farmers Alliance mail room during this holiday season, you will find more than just letters and packages. You will find several balloons in various shapes and sizes. Veeda Clark creates “Christmas Balloon Art”. She has made presents, an elf that sits on her shelf, and several other Christmas decorations.

This hobby started about three years ago, when Veeda would make balloon creations for her nieces and grand children’s birthdays. She has made several arches, columns, and table decorations. One of her favorite projects that she has done was her Niece, Sunnie’s Birthday Party.

The biggest decoration is a gateway arch that is red and white that sits in front of her desk. It took two hundred balloons to make, mainly small ones. She uses a pump for the larger balloons, but blows up the smaller ones by herself. She had to bring the arch in  three separate pieces in order to fit it in her car.

“It’s really hard to transport that amount of balloons in a Kia Soul.”

 

Article contributed by Tyler Bruton (Marketing).

“I had the opportunity to tag along with members of the claims and underwriting departments to visit the new PrairieLand Partners facility in McPherson a few months ago. This was a great experience, because for someone with very little farming background, everything was new to me.

Over the past year, I’ve seen this facility start as a plot of land and progress into a huge facility. The building is surrounded by various tractors and combines.

We arrive and go into the building and I’m amazed at the architecture of building. When you walk in, there is a store and a display of various farm vehicles: small tractors, mowers, and other things.

Walking by the hardware section, I noticed cans of spray paint. There are 3 colors: black, yellow, and John Deere green–On a side note, the question was asked during the tour if they had other colors of paint, in which they do!

We were then greeted by a man named Myron, who led us upstairs to one of their training rooms. Here we received an overview on the GPS systems in John Deere combines and tractors. Who would’ve thought that this stuff would be so expensive? Between the displays, receivers, and activations, it can get very pricey to replace.

After the GPS systems training, we proceeded to tour the shop. In the shop, is where all the combine, tractor and mower repairs take place. This part makes up the majority of the building.

Overall this was a very meaningful experience, and it’s very impressive how far farming technology has come over time.”

At Farmers Alliance, we cover all sorts of farm equipment and technology. Your Farmers Alliance agent is the best source of information regarding these coverages. Talk with them about your specific situation, and they’ll know just what you need!

IMPORTANT: Refer to the policy for coverages provided and pricing. If there is any conflict between the policy and this information, the provisions of the policy shall prevail.

“Everyone is touched by cancer in some way. It may be a friend, family member or a co-worker. Through the years, Farmers Alliance has had several employees battle this awful disease. As a team we want to put our foot forward and stomp out cancer. We have had a Relay for Life team for over twelve years,” said Gloria Schroeder, Farmers Alliance Claims Examiner and Relay for Life committee member.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life event is a life-changing experience that gives communities across the globe a chance to Celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, Remember loved ones lost, and Fight Back against the disease. Each year, more than four million people in over twenty countries take part in this global phenomenon and raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer.

Farmers Alliance has done several initiatives over the years to raise awareness and raise money for this great cause. There have been silent auctions, benefit breakfasts and luncheons, dunk tank, car bash, and much more.

One of the popular initiatives is the selling of stickers that allow employees to wear jeans on Mondays (during the months that have five Mondays), flip-flops and shorts day, and hat day. This gives employees the chance to wear casual clothing which isn’t the business-casual dress code.

 

The Farmers Alliance Team raises more than $5,000 a year, and is already making plans for 2017.

If you would like to get involved, or learn more about Relay for Life. Check out their page here.