Author: Teri Russell

June 4, 2020

At Farmers Alliance we continue to monitor the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on our employees, our agency partners, and our valued policyholders. Throughout the country, quarantines and “safer-at-home” orders have dramatically reduced the use of many personal vehicles. Even in our predominantly rural territory, we have seen less travel during the past several weeks, and ultimately less auto accidents. Farmers Alliance has experienced savings due to this change, and we are now passing that savings to our personal auto policyholders.

We work hard to ensure that our premiums are fair and reasonable, but because this situation could not have been predicted when policy rates were established, we believe sending a one-time refund of a portion of the premium is the right thing to do. The premium refund is based on the number of cars, pickups and vans insured on a personal auto policy with us. These refunds will not affect future premium calculations for these policies, and checks will be mailed to personal auto policyholders during the next several weeks. The refunds are subject to regulatory approval, which is anticipated very soon.

As a reminder, we continue to assist any policyholder who is unable to pay their premium due to the current situation. Through our agency partners, we continue to work with our customers on request by extending premium grace periods, waiving late payment fees and continuing coverage for any expiring policies.

If your agency office is closed to visitors to help prevent the spread of the virus, they are accessible and responsive by phone or email. If you can’t reach your agent, please contact us at 800.362.1075 and we can help.

Thank you for continuing to place your trust in Farmers Alliance. We pledge to continue to work each day to earn that trust, and to do all we can to provide peace of mind for you and all those we serve.

Brian Lopata
President & Chief Executive Officer

BE ALERT – SCAMS ARE INCREASING

As the world health situation continues to be chaotic, we are reminded that there are those who prey on innocent people during times of turmoil or distress. That is happening now, as we have learned of customers being approached and asked for bank information to make their premium payment.

IMPORTANT:  No Farmers Alliance employee will EVER approach a policyholder by phone or email to collect a premium payment. We offer convenient payment options by phone or through our website – all information is at www.fami.com. Or, contact your Farmers Alliance agent for assistance. Stay vigilant – about your health AND your safety!

In cooperation with our independent agency partners, Farmers Alliance is prepared to help any policyholder who is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you are unable to pay your policy premium at this time or have any questions about your insurance coverage, please call or email your Farmers Alliance agent – please do not go to your agent’s office unless asked to do so by your agent.  We are working with our customers on request by extending premium grace periods, waiving late payment fees and continuing coverage for any expiring policies.

Many agency offices are closed to visitors to help prevent the spread of the virus, but they are accessible and responsive by phone or email. If you can’t reach your agent, please contact us at 800.362.1075 and we can help.

Farmers Alliance cares about your health and safety. We will get through this challenging time together.

March 18, 2020

To our policyholders:

First, thank you for the trust you place in Farmers Alliance. I want to assure you that we are prepared to address the safety of our employees while serving the needs of our agents and policyholders. Our Leadership Team has been closely monitoring the virus and its impact for several weeks. While we recognize the COVID-19 pandemic is a dynamic situation, we are committed to providing you a high level of service, while protecting the health of our Farmers Alliance employees. Here’s a short summary:

• We have established policies that reduce the spread of the virus – travel restrictions, balancing on-site and remote workers to limit exposure and strictly limiting office visitors.
• We are actively working to ensure the health and safety of our employees and their families, including additional office cleaning and hygiene practices, and social distancing.
• We are prepared to deliver uninterrupted business operations, including the possibility of extended remote business teams.

We have an amazing, dedicated staff, and strong processes in place. We are confident in our ability to meet your needs, even if the delivery might take a few minutes longer or require a bit more patience. We are committed to serving you well, while keeping our staff and our communities safe. While this situation is extremely difficult, we are all in this together, and we look forward to supporting you in whatever ways we can.

Thank you again for your trust, and please contact us or your Farmers Alliance agent if you have any questions.

Brian Lopata
President & Chief Executive Officer

MCPHERSON, KS – Rich Cunningham, Senior Claims Representative at Farmers Alliance Companies, received the 2019 Excellence In Service award at the companies’ recent Christmas Banquet. He was recognized for his caring attitude and exceptional service to policyholders and claimants who have experienced a loss. President and CEO Brian Lopata presented the award, noting that Cunningham exemplifies the service we strive to provide to all our customers. He said, “Rich, you recently told someone you consider it your privilege to serve our customers at their time of need, and that is exactly the spirit we need throughout our entire company.” Lopata thanked Cunningham for his dedication and commitment to his customers.

Cunningham, who has lived in Salina since 1962, graduated from Salina Central High School in 1973 and Brown Mackie School of Business in 1974. He obtained his Associate in Claims from the Insurance Institute of America in 1990. In 1991, he obtained his Senior Claims Representative status and has helped train new adjusters for many years.

Cunningham has held all offices in the Mid Kansas Claims Association and Kansas Claims Association, including President twice for Mid Kansas Claims Association in 1991 and 1995 and once for Kansas Claims Association in 1998. He was named Mid Kansas Claims Association’s Adjuster of the Year in 1990 and 2003. He was named Farmers Alliance’s Employee of the Month in January of 1992, February of 2016, and most recently in October of 2019.

Although Cunningham, who has been a resident adjuster since 1984, typically serves the North Central Kansas area, he has worked a claim in every county in Kansas over his 37 years with Farmers Alliance.

Cunningham and his wife Beth have been married for 43 years. They have a son, a daughter, and one grandson. When he’s not working, Cunningham enjoys traveling, taking fishing trips to Lake Texoma, attending sports of any kind, detailing cars, and collecting match books and matchboxes.

MCPHERSON, KANSAS  —  Farmers Alliance announced today that AM Best has upgraded the Farmers Alliance Rating to “A” (Excellent). The announcement was made to employees and independent agents by President and CEO Brian Lopata.

President Lopata said, “You may recall that our “Outlook” was upgraded last year at this time to “Positive”, which was a significant achievement. It is highly uncommon to have upgrades in consecutive years, making this news even more exciting.” AM Best ratings are based on financial and operational performance over several years, and are indicative of how Farmers Alliance compares with other companies. Lopata added, “This upgrade in our AM Best Financial Strength Rating is a meaningful acknowledgement of the work that has been done by our staff, our agents, and our leadership team, with strong support from our Board of Directors. This type of change does not happen by accident, and is recognition of long-term trends in a positive direction.”

According to a release from AM Best, one key aspect that influenced the analysts was the introduction of Farmers Alliance’s new strategic plan, FAMI Forward 2025. The AM Best analysts specifically noted the way the plan was created as a strength for Farmers Alliance, as it was developed with input from employees throughout the company, as well as agents and other key stakeholders. Lopata said, “This recognition of our efforts by AM Best certainly helps to reassure us that we are taking the right steps. It is especially nice to have the acknowledgement of our efforts by this respected and independent organization. We know we have a great plan, based on our past successes, and we’re so very excited about the future at Farmers Alliance.”

The full release from AM Best can be found at
http://news.ambest.com/presscontent.aspx?altsrc=3&RefNum=28857&URatingId=-1

More information about Farmers Alliance’s AM Best rating can be found at http://ratings.ambest.com/CompanyProfile.aspx?BL=0&ambnum=114&AltNum=517114&AltSrc=3