Insurance

IInnssuurraanncceeIInnffoorrmmaattiioonn IInnssttiittuuttee

The Insurance Industry’s Contribution to Community Development

When Hurricane Katrina slammedinto the Gulf Coast in August2005, insurers and their employees

responded to the dramatic needs of storm vic-tims in ways that went far beyond paying claimsand helping communities to rebuild. This issueof Impact proudly highlights the many extramiles of the insurance industry’s response.

Within these pages are stories of heroism,compassion and a commitment to go beyondthe requirements of the job. We profile insur-ance adjusters from several companies who lefttheir homes and families for months, enduringgrueling hours, housing problems, long lines atgas stations and, sometimes, even violence —all in an effort to settle claims. But it was morethan just cutting a check. It was being there fortheir claimants on a human level — listeningto their tragedies, comforting them and know-ing they were helping their policyholdersbecome whole again.

There were employees who did search andrescue of animals to reunite them with theirfamilies; those who volunteered to do cleanupat the Superdome; and those who did the basicwork of handing out food and water.

Also in this issue are stories about compa-nies and their employees who are making adifference every day in other parts of the coun-try and in the world. To mark ACE’s 20th

anniversary, for example, the company launcheda Global Day of Service where more than5,000 ACE employees from 36 countries con-tributed to more than 170 projects in morethan 100 cities, giving back to the communitieswhere the company has conducted business allthese years.

In order to help student-athletes get ajump-start on their personal finances, TheHartford has been working closely with theNCAA to develop a national educational program called Playbook for Life. Launched inspring 2005, the program provides practical,educational content about financial planningbasics in a way that is engaging and relevant tostudent-athletes.

In fulfilling its charitable mission of helping at-risk and disadvantaged children gainessential advantages in order to learn and develop, GE Insurance Solutions is workingwith Operation Breakthrough, a facility thatprovides quality childcare for poor families.Through volunteerism and giving, GEInsurance Solutions deploys its best and brightest employees to share their expertise tohelp Operation Breakthrough solve its mostchallenging business issues.

When a Job is More Than Just a Job

I.I.I. Members

ACE USAACUITYAEGIS Insurance Services, Inc.Alea GroupAllianz of America, Inc.Allstate Insurance GroupAmerican Agricultural Insurance

CompanyAmerican International Group, Inc.American Re-Insurance CompanyAtlantic Mutual CompaniesAuto Club South Insurance CompanyBeazley Group PLCBituminous Insurance CompaniesChubb Group of Insurance CompaniesChurch Mutual Insurance CompanyCNACUMIS Insurance Society, Inc.De Smet Farm Mutual Insurance

Company of South DakotaDryden Mutual Insurance CompanyErie Insurance GroupFarmers Group, Inc.Foundation Reserve Insurance

CompanyGE Insurance SolutionsGEICOGen ReGermania InsuranceGrange Insurance CompaniesThe Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.The Harford Mutual Insurance

CompaniesThe Hartford Financial Services GroupHolyoke Mutual Insurance CompanyLiberty Mutual GroupLloyd’sMarsh Inc.MetLife Auto & HomeMillville Mutual Insurance CompanyMissouri Employers Mutual InsuranceNationwide Norfolk & Dedham GroupOhio Mutual Insurance GroupOneBeacon Insurance GroupPalisades Safety and Insurance

AssociationPennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual

Insurance CompanyPlymouth Rock Assurance CorporationSafeco Insurance CompaniesSt. Paul TravelersSCOR U.S. CorporationSelective Insurance GroupState Farm Mutual Automobile

Insurance CompanyThe Sullivan GroupSwiss Reinsurance America CorporationTIAA-CREFThe Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance

CompanyTrenwick America Reinsurance

CorporationUnitrin Property and Casualty

Insurance GroupUSAAUtica Mutual Insurance CompanyW.R. Berkley CorporationWestfield GroupX.L. Insurance Company, Ltd.XL GroupZurich North America

Inside:

Winter 2005 Vol. 11 No.2 Impact is published by the Insurance Information Institute, 110 William Street, New York, N.Y. 10038; 212-346-5500. Editor: Diane Portantiere; ©2005 Insurance Information Institute, www.iii.org

The toll of Hurricane Katrina in St. Bernard's Parish, Louisiana. Photo: Loretta Worters.

Rallying for the Gulf Coast................................................................................1

After the Storm: Claims Adjusters Sort Through the Wreckage .......................10

Global Day of Service ......................................................................................12

Operation Breakthrough: Making a Connection With Children .....................14

Helping Student-Athletes Get a Jump Start on Their Financial Future ............16

Quietly and with little fanfare,insurers and their employees

responded to the dramatic needs ofstorm victims across the Gulf Coast—with money, volunteers and trucks of food and water. At press time the insurance industry contributedmore than $70 million to relieforganizations and spent countlesshours volunteering to help aidvictims.

While not all relief efforts arechronicled here, the following is arepresentation of how those in theinsurance industry rallied ‘round vic-tims, giving willingly and generouslyto communities in need.

ACEACE created the ACE HurricaneKatrina Relief Fund. The company

made a contribution to the fund,accepted contributions from all ACEemployees around the world andmatched those contributions 100 percent.

ALFAAlfa donated funds to the AmericanRed Cross Hurricane Katrina ReliefFund from employee and customerdonations, which the companymatched on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

ALLIANZAllianz made provisions for short- andlong-term relief funds for the GulfCoast region, with half of the aidgoing directly to organizations work-ing to meet the immediate, basicneeds of Katrina victims. Through theAllianz Foundation for North

America, the company dedicated theother half of this aid package to long-term programs for youth developmentand educational enrichment along theGulf Coast. This is in keeping withthe Foundation’s mission to empoweryoung people to shape a secure futurefor themselves and the communitiesin which they live.

In addition, several AllianzGroup companies in North Americamade significant corporate donationsand matched or even double-matchedemployee donations for immediaterelief organizations such as theAmerican Red Cross, AmeriCares andthe Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.

ALLSTATEThe Allstate Foundation HurricaneRecovery Fund was established to aid

1

Rallying for the Gulf CoastH

urricane Katrina struck south Florida as a Category 1

storm August 25, killing 11 people. Four days later, as a

Category 4 storm, Katrina slammed into Louisiana,

killing more than 1,000 people, leaving nearly 80 percent of New Orleans under water and

devastating Gulf Coast communities. It is estimated that the industry will pay out more than

$35 billion in insured losses with economic losses nearing $100 billion. This includes the cost

of repairs to roads, bridges, levees, water and sewer systems, tourism losses, lost income from

businesses that have closed as well as offshore gas and oil rigs.

victims of the hurricane by support-ing a variety of efforts in affectedcommunities, including: emergencyshelter, food and clothing, healthissues (as a direct result of the hurri-cane), social services, mental healthrecovery efforts, community clean up,rebuilding and restoring communityemergency services and assistancewith home reconstruction residentpermit processing.

Allstate formed a relationshipwith The Tom Joyner MorningShow® to help families assisting thosedisplaced by Hurricane Katrina.Allstate matched contributions to theBlackAmericaweb.com Relief Fund,which provided direct support toindividual families who opened theirhomes to families displaced byHurricane Katrina. TheBlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fundworked cooperatively with localchurches in states neighboring affect-ed areas to identify families in need ofassistance.

In conjunction with its “GoodHands” field goal net program launchedin early September, Allstate is making adonation to the American Red CrossHurricane Katrina Relief Fund for everysuccessful field goal made by Allstateparticipating schools at their home andaway games throughout the 2005 col-lege football season.

Allstate launched its 2005 AnnualGiving Campaign early to acceptdonations for the American RedCross and matched dollar for dollardonations made by Allstate employeesand agencies to the American RedCross Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.

Allstate contributed funds to theNational Council of LaRaza KatrinaRelief Fund to provide short-termemergency financial assistance toNCLR affiliate organizations working

to meet the immediate needs ofHispanic Katrina evacuees. NCLR localaffiliate organizations benefiting fromthis fund are offering translators, food,shelter and schooling, and spearheadingfundraising events and donation drivesto ensure relief is provided to all ofthose affected by the disaster.

Allstate also contributed moneyto the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund toprovide relief and rebuilding resourcesto help the victims of this disaster.

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUPIn Katrina’s immediate aftermath, theAIG Disaster Relief Fund was quicklycalled into action. Employees wereinvited to contribute to the fund and

their contributions were matched bythe company. To date, most of themoney has been distributed to sixorganizations whose efforts have beenmaking a huge difference in gettingmuch needed relief to the victims ofthis tragedy — each of the stateemergency relief funds set up by thegovernors of Alabama, Louisiana andMississippi, as well as to theLouisiana Red Cross, the BatonRouge Area Foundation and CrisisIntervention of Houston.

AIG and its employees also initiat-ed a number of relief activities to helpthe hundreds of AIG employees whowere directly affected by the hurricane.AIG assembled a “SWAT” team toensure swift implementation of pro-

2

grams to assist AIG employees. Theseincluded: established a vendor gift cardprogram which enabled employees tohelp their colleagues obtain essentialitems such as food and clothing fromnational retail stores; arranged truckand air deliveries of food and otherneeded items to affected areas; offeredAIG cars coming off lease for sale atbook value to employees who lost theircars due to the hurricane; launched aninterest-free salary advance program forimpacted employees who will be able topay back the loans through payrolldeductions; gave clothing vouchers andtemporary housing assistance to dis-placed employees; provided debit cardsto employees who were subjected tomandatory evacuation, and/or who sus-tained substantial losses, to be used for

emergency food, clothing or shelter. Local AIG offices held various

fundraisers including a Cajun-styledance in Seattle; employee collectionsin Japan and Korea; a jeans day andbake sale in Chicago; and an icecream social in Dallas.

AMERICA’S HEALTHINSURANCE PLANSThe community of Health InsurancePlans worked behind the scenes toassist in the relief effort. HealthInsurance Plans and their employeesmade financial donations to charities,deployed medical personnel to theregion and worked with public healthand regulatory agencies to facilitatethe health care needs of displacedindividuals.

CHUBB The Chubb Corporation established afund for disaster-relief efforts relatedto Hurricane Katrina. Chubb alsocontributed directly to disaster-relieforganizations and matched employeecontributions to relief organizationson a two-for-one basis.

CHURCH MUTUALChurch Mutual posted safety tips onits web site for anyone housing orplanning to house evacuees fromHurricane Katrina and matched cashdonations made by its employees tothe Salvation Army.

CNACNA made a donation to the RedCross and used the CNA Foundation

3

Victims of Hurricane Katrina lined

up outside Nationwide Agent

Willie Owens’ office in Mobile,

Alabama, as Owens and 40 other

Nationwiders handed out much-needed

supplies to those who had been without

power for days. In two hours, they were

halfway through two truckloads of ice,

water, diapers, toilet paper, paper towels

and food. “Everyone was very apprecia-

tive for the supplies and that we were

here,” Owens said. “And that’s what we

needed to do. We needed to give back to

the community.” Owens’ office routed

telephone claims to satellite offices while

the power was out. When the power

came back on, he processed claims all

night. When he went home he was able

to watch the news for the first time in

several days. Seeing the devastation

brought tears to his eyes. “It was hum-

bling for a lot of folks, especially me,” he

said. “We were relieved we were spared

the full wrath of this storm. We have

a lot to be thankful for and our hearts

and compassion go out to our friends in

Louisiana and Mississippi.”

Mobile was one of five humanitarian

relief sites run by Nationwide volunteers

during the hurricane season. It took days

for some relief teams from Nationwide to

get to areas hardest hit because of flood-

ing, debris and washed-out roads.

Katrina’s Victims Find Relief

Photo courtesy of Nationw

ide.

for matching gifts so employees coulddonate to other relief organizations.CNA also promoted an “Adopt anEmployee” program whereby employ-ees could directly donate to the morethan 50 employees and their familiesaffected by the hurricane. In addition,the company had funds immediatelydirected to any employee affected byHurricane Katrina to cover emer-gency expenses.

SOCIETY OF CPCUThe Board of Governors established aKatrina Emergency Relief Fund forindividual member and chapter dona-tions. The Society matched thecontributions and all donations wereforwarded to the American Red Crosson behalf of chapters in affectedareas. The Society also created aMember Discussion Board to enablemembers to share information, postquestions about traveling, accommo-dations and other needs and sharethoughts and concerns.

CUNA MUTUALCUNA Mutual Group contributedmoney to the National Credit UnionFoundation’s National Disaster ReliefFund to help credit unions andleagues recover from the devastationleft by Hurricane Katrina.

EMPLOYERS INSURANCEGROUPEmployers Insurance Group pledgedmoney to the Salvation Army to aidvictims of Hurricane Katrina and alsocollected additional donationsthrough its six western states.

ERIE INSURANCE GROUP ERIE matched its agents and employ-ee contributions dollar-for-dollar. Inaddition to raising money for the

American Red Cross HurricaneKatrina Relief Fund, a number ofERIE branch offices, agents andemployees helped Hurricane Katrinavictims in a number of other ways.ERIE volunteers assembled 3,500Comfort Kits (toiletries and other con-venience items) for the MilwaukeeRed Cross Chapter. These kits wereshipped to the Houston Astrodomewhere Katrina victims were temporari-ly housed. Several Rochester Branchemployees assisted the American RedCross during a telethon to raise moneyfor Katrina victims. ERIE donated the use of its mobile CatastropheResponse Unit (CRU) and employeevolunteers to assist the American RedCross in its recovery efforts.

FARMERSFarmers, its agents and employees,joined the Hurricane Katrina reliefeffort by donating water, food, cloth-ing and school supplies and workedwith the American Red Cross.Farmers also matched its districtmanagers’, agents’ and employees’contributions. In Texas, Farmers’employees volunteered time at theHouston Astrodome.

FIREMAN’S FUNDFireman’s Fund Insurance Companyestablished an initiative to support firedepartments rebuilding in the after-math of Hurricane Katrina. Grantswere awarded to replace valuableequipment damaged by the storm. Anadvisory board comprised of represen-tatives from the InternationalAssociation of Fire Chiefs, theNational Volunteer Fire Council andthe National Fallen FirefightersFoundation, as well as other leaders inthe fire service, provided guidance onhow to distribute the funds. Fireman’s

Fund’s financial commitment was sup-plemented by employees’ localfundraising activities and contributionsthat were matched by the company.

Long-term relief efforts spear-headed by Fireman’s Fund willultimately help volunteer and careerfire departments rebuild and recoverby filling the funding gap that mayexist after insurance claims have beenpaid, federal aid has been received andother resources have been exhausted.

GEICOGEICO’s 12 major locations aroundthe country all conducted local fund-raisers to donate needed dollars tohurricane victims. The companymatched the money raised by its associ-ates. GEICO also made corporatecontributions to the Baton Rouge AreaFoundation and the MississippiHurricane Recovery Fund, establisheda company-wide philanthropic fundand is looking at the best ways to makecontributions to local communities andresidents in the hurricane areas.

GE INSURANCE SOLUTIONSGE Insurance Solutions raised moneyfor hurricane families and supportedthe local Red Cross call center, one ofonly 15 Red Cross call centersresponding to Hurricanes Katrina,Rita and Wilma. In Kansas City, 49GE volunteers staffed the call center,which operated seven days a week, 13hours a day. Many worked multipleshifts answering calls regarding miss-ing loved ones, emergency aid andshelter assistance. Employees workedfour-hour shifts, often on weekends.GE also supplied volunteers to helpwith meals and transportation forNew Orleans evacuees who were relo-cated to the Kansas City area and

4

conducted food drives to supportevacuees in this area.

The GE family committedmoney, products and services toassist the recovery efforts. A DisasterRelief Fund was established whichwill be matched dollar-for-dollar bythe GE Foundation. In addition, amonetary contribution was made tothe American Red Cross from fundsdonated by GE employees andretirees, which the GE Foundationwill match dollar for dollar. GEmade a commitment of medicaldevices, power generators, waterpurification and other goods and ser-vices as identified by federal reliefauthorities. GE donated a TM2500mobile power plant (22 megawattsof power) that restored capacity to afuel transfer station in Fourchon,Louisiana. The transfer station pro-vides 13 percent of the nation’scrude oil, which supplies 40 percentof the nation’s refineries. The donat-ed equipment will allow theFourchon Booster Station to processan additional 720,000 barrels ofcrude oil per day, the equivalent oftwo oil refineries. GE also sponsoredthree telethons hosted by NBCUniversal on its television stationsand its broadcast and cable platformsraised funds for the Red Cross tosupport hurricane victims. To helpemployees and retirees directlyaffected by the storm, GE providedEmergency Aid Grants.

GENERAL CASUALTY General Casualty and its employeesdonated funds to the American RedCross in support of hurricane reliefefforts in the South. In addition to acorporate gift, General Casualty con-tributed 50 cents for every dollardonated by employees.

GERMANIA INSURANCEIn the wake of Hurricane Katrina’sdevastation, an estimated 500,00 totwo million people sought refuge invarious areas of Texas, bringing withthem very few belongings. GermaniaInsurance employees pulled togetherby collecting money to be used topurchase WalMart gift cards, whichwere given to the Hospice StormCenter in Brenham, Texas, and dis-tributed to the victims.

THE HANOVER INSURANCE GROUPIn response to Katrina, The HanoverInsurance Group established a programthrough which its charitable founda-tion matched the contributions ofindividual employees, as it did earlierin 2005 for victims of the tsunami thatdevastated the Asian-Pacific region.The foundation’s contributions weredirected to the American Red Cross,while employees were encouraged tomake their personal contributions tothe Hurricane Katrinia relief organiza-tions of their choice.

THE HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICESGROUP, INC.The Hartford matched dollar-for-dollar donations made by itsemployees to two relief organizations— the American Red Cross andAmerica’s Second Harvest. There wasno maximum on the dollar amountmatched. Additionally, employeeswere welcome to contribute to a spe-cial fund for the benefit ofemployees and retirees of TheHartford affected by HurricaneKatrina. Contributions to this fundwere matched in the form of dona-tions to the American Red Cross andAmerica’s Second Harvest.

INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS &BROKERS OF AMERICAIIABA established the Big I KatrinaRelief Fund. One hundred percent ofdonations received will assist indepen-dent agents, their employees, theirfamilies and industry colleagues inthe impacted areas. IIABA receivedoverwhelming support from its mem-bers and state associations across thecountry.

INSURANCE INDUSTRY CHARITABLEFOUNDATIONThe Insurance Industry CharitableFoundation and Insurance Journalpartnered on a nationwide campaignto raise funds on behalf of the insur-ance industry in support of reliefefforts. All collected funds weredonated in the form of a grant onbehalf of the donors and the insur-ance industry to the American RedCross and Salvation Army.

ISOISO established a special matching gifts program to fast-track aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina.Throughout the month-long cam-paign, ISO matched gifts made to the American Red Cross, the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, the SalvationArmy and the United Way HurricaneKatrina Response Fund by its employ-ees. To accelerate delivery of funds,ISO bypassed the normal procedures for ISO’s Matching GiftsProgram that require the completionof forms by the gift giver and therecipient. Instead, ISO set up a procedure to accept employee checksor credit card receipts and send themout as designated by the employeewith the corporate match. In commu-

5

nicating its commitment to this causeand willingness to mobilize staff tomake gift-giving easy and quick, ISOemployee response was very strong.

LIBERTY MUTUALLiberty Mutual set up a HurricaneRelief Employee Match Program tosupport the American Red Cross,wherein the company matchesemployee contributions dollar fordollar. In addition, Liberty Mutualmade a corporate grant to theAmerican Red Cross.

Liberty Mutual’s personal insur-ance claims representatives in areashardest hit by Hurricane Katrinahanded out care packages to customerscontaining toothbrushes, toothpaste,first aid kits, water, shampoo and coloring books. The 15,000 carepackages were assembled by volunteersat Liberty Mutual’s home office inBoston.

Liberty Mutual also donatedmoney to kick-off the Big TenConference’s campaign to supporthurricane victims. The Big Ten is collecting cash donations to theAmerican Red Cross Disaster ReliefFund at each Conference Champion-ship/ Tournament throughout the2005-06 academic year.

METLIFEMetLife, Inc. made a financial contri-bution to various organizationsproviding assistance to Gulf Coastresidents.

In addition, MetLife associateswere called into service on a personallevel, such as Senior Learning andDevelopment Consultant AlexArroyo, who is in the National GuardReserves, and was called in to assistthe New Orleans Police Departmentin removing holdouts from the city.

“The city was just devastated,” saidArroyo. In addition, Arroyo wasassigned to help cleanup theSuperbowl Stadium. “What I saw isbeyond words,” he said. “But forevery one incident I saw of man’sinhumanity to man, I saw six orseven other examples of man’s overallkindness to his fellow man,” he said.

Still others found special ways tolend a hand. Mitch Valerien, whoworks as a business consultant forMetLife’s Individual Business Unit inWarwick, Rhode Island, flew fromRhode Island to Parker Coliseum inBaton Rouge, which housed over athousand abandoned animals. Mostof these pets were being cared for byvolunteers. “Daily admission of ani-mals is still exceeding the numbersbeing discharged to their owners, butpeople and their pets are beingreunited every day,” she said.Valerien spent a week volunteeringat the shelter.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONOF MUTUAL INSURANCECOMPANIESNAMIC staff contributed funds torelief efforts through a ‘Casual Friday’fundraiser.

NATIONWIDEThe Nationwide Foundation donatedfunds to the American Red CrossDisaster Relief Fund to aid inHurricane Katrina recovery efforts andmatched dollar for dollar personal con-tributions of Nationwide associates,agents and retirees to the United WayHurricane Katrina Response Fund.

NEW YORK LIFENew York Life Insurance Company,through its New York LifeFoundation, contributed to theAmerican Red Cross in support of itsdisaster relief efforts followingHurricane Katrina. In addition, theFoundation will match all donationsmade by New York Life employees,agents and retirees dollar for dollar tothe American Red Cross.

NORTHWESTERN MUTUALNorthwestern Mutual pledged sup-port to the Hurricane Katrina reliefeffort through a grant to theAmerican Red Cross from theNorthwestern Mutual Foundation.

ONEBEACONOneBeacon employees stepped upto help the victims of HurricaneKatrina by donating money to assistthe company’s five InternationalMarine Insurance (IMU) employeesin New Orleans. IMU is the oceanmarine division of OneBeacon. Theassistance from their colleagues

6

Mitch Valerian, MetLife, dons protective

gear to search for abandoned pets.

Photo courtesy of MetLife.

helped the New Orleans IMU teamcover immediate personal needswhile they temporarily served theircustomers from their office inAtlanta. More broadly, and in amatch of employee donations, theOneBeacon Charitable Trust con-tributed to the American Red CrossHurricane Katrina Relief Fund, TheSalvation Army’s relief efforts andthe Big “I” Katrina Relief Fund,sponsored by the IndependentInsurance Agents & Brokers ofAmerica. OneBeacon employeesacross the country raised additionalmoney for the Red Cross throughindividual donations, special collec-tions at employee appreciation dayevents and sponsorship of jeans days

and t-shirt days. Beyond monetarydonations, company staff gave ahelping hand by donating PaidTime Off days. On an individuallevel, a OneBeacon underwriter inthe Manchester, New Hampshire,office sheltered nine people dis-placed by the storm in her home.Her colleagues pitched in with giftcertificates from a local supermarketto defray some of the costs.

PHILADELPHIA INSURANCE COMPANIESPhiladelphia Insurance Companiesand Team PHLY committed to help-ing the victims of Hurricane Katrinaby raising funds for The AmericanRed Cross. In November 2005,

Philadelphia Insurance Companiesand Team PHLY athletes competedin the Panama City, Florida,Ironman race (2.4 mile swim, 112mile bike and a 26.2 mile run).Team PHLY successful raised moneyfor the Red Cross by asking for apledge of $10 for each mile in the140.6 mile Ironman race.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONOF PROFESSIONALINSURANCE AGENTS The National Association ofProfessional Insurance Agents (PIA)provided financial assistance to threePIA state affiliates hit by HurricaneKatrina. Funds were provided by PIANational to PIA of Louisiana,

7

Mississippi and Alabama for certainextraordinary expenses created by thiscatastrophic event. In addition, PIANational issued a call to members ofthe Association from across the coun-try to offer temporary housingassistance as needed to independentagents in the areas damaged byHurricane Katrina. The national officeof the PIA worked with its state affili-ate offices in Louisiana, Mississippiand Alabama to coordinate the volun-teer effort. More than 50 PIAmembers around the country volun-teered to host the families of agentsdisplaced by Hurricane Katrina.

PROGRESSIVEThe Progressive InsuranceFoundation provided a 200 percentmatch to all contributions Progressiveemployees nationwide made to quali-fied tax-exempt organizations. Inaddition, the Progressive KatrinaFund was set up whereby contribu-

tions were distributed to the morethan 190 Progressive agents andemployees directly affected by thehurricane. Progressive also held arecruiting event in New Orleans tohelp those displaced by HurricanesKatrina and Rita secure jobs, includ-ing jobs as claims and customerservice representatives.

PRUDENTIAL FINANCIALPrudential Financial, Inc. and itsemployees contributed money to helpGulf Coast victims. The money will beused to support local charitable organi-zations dedicated to helping victims byproviding housing assistance, job train-ing and other services that will make itpossible for people to get back to anormal life. Funds will also be used toassist soldiers returning from Iraq whobelong to the Louisiana Army NationalGuard’s 256th Brigade Combat Team,the “Louisiana Tigers.” Those soldiershave been attached to New York’s

“Fighting 69th” Infantry ArmyNational Guard unit. When theyreturn home, they may find that theyand their families were victims of thehurricane. While the company is mak-ing a commitment to assist victims,Prudential employees throughout thecountry responded by collecting water,clothes and other essential items tosend to Gulf Coast residents. Beyondthe financial contributions, Prudentialdonated full-page, non-commercialadvertisements in New York and NewJersey newspapers, urging people tocontribute to the relief effort.

SAFECOSafeco launched a special disaster-relief effort to deliver financialassistance, equipment and free sup-port services to help independentinsurance distributors recover fromHurricane Katrina. This relief effortincluded financial support to the Big“I” Katrina Relief Fund established bythe Independent Insurance Agentsand Brokers Association to aid inde-pendent distributors and theiremployees in storm-ravaged areas andequipment (laptops, generators, foodand water, satellite-enabled phones) toget agencies up and running. Safecoalso designated service professionals tosupport personal and small-businesspolicyholders until agency systemswere restored and normal operationscould resume; a corporate donation tothe American Red Cross HurricaneKatrina Relief Fund, in addition tomatching all employee donations tothat organization on a two-for-onebasis. Safeco also supported a radiocampaign on two of the largest newsand talk radio stations that target thePuget Sound audience (WesternWashington State) in support ofKatrina fundraising efforts of Mercy

8

Corps, an agency that aims to alleviatesuffering, poverty and oppression byhelping people build secure, produc-tive communities.

ST. PAUL TRAVELERSSt. Paul Travelers made a corporatecontribution to the American RedCross to fund relief efforts for the vic-tims of Hurricane Katrina and donatedadditional money from the company’semployees to various relief organiza-tions. St. Paul Travelers also created itsown Employee Disaster Relief Fund toprovide an additional means for thecompany and employees to assist thoseemployees who were displaced fromtheir homes. In addition, the compa-ny’s Employees Club in Hartford,Connecticut, organized a collection ofitems for hurricane victims that result-ed in a half a trailer truck full ofclothing, food, water, toiletries, tents,tarps, diapers and more, which wasdelivered to the Gulf Coast.

SELECTIVESelective Insurance Group con-tributed money to Hurricane Katrinarelief efforts through company andemployee contributions. FollowingSelective’s announcement of a corpo-rate donation, the company offeredto match employee donations madeto the American Red CrossHurricane Katrina Disaster ReliefFund. As a result of employees’tremendous response to the RedCross, Selective was able to also con-tribute to other relief efforts,including the Salvation Army andDirect Relief International.

STATE FARMState Farm donated to the AmericanRed Cross National Disaster ReliefFund to aid Hurricane Katrina relief

efforts and matched dollar-for-dollarcontributions individual employees,agents, retirees and retired agentsmade to the National Disaster ReliefFund. In addition, the companysponsored Habitat for Humanityhome building at the Bayou Classiccollege football game in Houston,Texas, and ads supporting the hurri-cane fundraising efforts led by formerPresidents Bush and Clinton.

TIAA-CREFTIAA-CREF made a donation to theHurricane Katrina disaster relief fundestablished by the American RedCross, in addition to the matchingdonations TIAA-CREF made forevery dollar contributed by employeesduring the organization’s annualEmployee Giving Campaign. TIAA-CREF employees volunteered theirtime to the American Red Cross andother organizations in offices aroundthe country and collected basic essen-tials for displaced residents.

USAAUSAA Chairman and CEO Bob Davischaired the San Antonio HurricaneRelief Committee, a first-of-its-kindcollaboration that brought togethercity leaders, businesses and major reliefagencies that provided front-line sup-port to hurricane evacuees in SanAntonio. The committee establishedthe San Antonio Hurricane ReliefFund to support hurricane reliefefforts in the community. The fundwas seeded by a contribution fromUSAA. Funds were distributed to theAmerican Red Cross, GoodwillIndustries, the Salvation Army, the SanAntonio Food Bank, and the UnitedWay of San Antonio and BexarCounty, which distributed funds toadditional city agencies.

UTICA NATIONALTeaming together with WKTV-News Channel 2 and NorthlandCommunications, Utica National helda telethon to help raise funds for theAmerican Red Cross. Utica Nationalissued a challenge grant, offering tomatch contributions from the UticaNational Group Foundation.Employees from virtually all of UticaNational’s regional offices phoned intheir donations, as did some of Utica’sagent-customers, helping to make surethe challenge goal was met and sur-passed.

WESTFIELD INSURANCE GROUPWestfield Group made a corporatecontribution to the American RedCross Disaster Relief Fund andmatched employee donations to theAmerican Red Cross dollar for dollar.In addition, Westfield worked directlywith the nonprofit organization toprovide needed support as rescue andrelief efforts continued to unfoldalong the Gulf Coast.

XL Employees from XL Capital Ltd’sgroup of companies raised funds forHurricane Katrina relief, donating tothe charity of their choice with thecompany providing matching fundson a one-for-one basis. Fundraisingactivities that took place at XL’s U.S.and Bermuda offices included a casual/denim day, a bake sale and an H2ODrive to collect bottled water andother necessities for hurricane vic-tims. The company also encouragedemployees to submit ideas for fund-ing long-term recovery initiatives inthe devastated areas. ■

9

“When we met them, it was anoverwhelming experience to providethem help and let them know every-thing was going to be okay,” saidO’Connor, an adjuster for MetLifeAuto & Home, who lives in Concord,North Carolina.

“We inspected the house, thenbrought the family back to the RVwith us, where we gave them foodand water.”

A veteran of many catastrophes,O’Connor said Hurricane Andrew,which hit south Florida in 1992, hadbeen the worst disaster scene he hadexperienced in his career. Until Katrina.“It’s just unbelievable,” he said.

Thousands of adjusters likeO’Connor canvassed neighborhoodsacross Louisiana, Mississippi,Alabama and Florida to find ownerswhose property had been destroyed

by Hurricane Katrina. They have hadto contend with harsh working condi-tions in the Gulf, including two- tothree-hour drives to assess damage,waiting in long gas lines for fuel andworking in extreme weather. For thefirst time in history, many companiesmade immunizations available to its

adjusters to protect them against contaminated floodwaters. Then there was the daily stress of seeing devastation everywhere and the heart-breaking realization that a lot ofpeople didn’t have flood insurance.

Jesse Curtis, a State Farm adjusterwho lives in Florida, found the

10

After the Storm:Claims Adjusters Sort

Through the Wreckage

For several blocks, insurance adjuster Pete O’Connor dodged fallen power lines and

climbed over downed trees and rubble in Gulfport, Mississippi, until he came across

a car. Inside, there were four people he had been looking for — a family whose

home had been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and had nowhere else to live.

Insurance adjuster Jesse Curtis gives

homeowner Donald Kennedy the good

news about his coverage.

Photo courtesy of State Farm.

destruction in Louisiana inconceiv-able. “I’ve witnessed some grisly warscenes,” he admitted. “There werehomes that had their roofs blown offand one house was fully intact, but ithad floated a mile down the street.”

The most tragic story for Curtiswas on his second day of storm duty.“I was in the Slidell area and I hadfour houses to adjust on Highway 11and there was…well, there was noth-ing left on Highway 11. Everythingwas completely gone.”

Curtis met with a number of thefamilies there, including one womanwho not only lost her home, but herhusband. “You can pay them moneyto rebuild a house, but it would neverbe enough to replace a life,” he said,his voice cracking.

Homeowner Donald Kennedywas one of thelucky ones.When Curtisarrived atKennedy’s homein Slidell,Louisiana, heknew it was atotal loss. “Iwalked around,scoped out thedamage. Wewere able to give

him a $5,000 advance while helooked for a temporary residence. Aweek later he received a check for thefull coverage of his home and a weekafter that a check for his personalproperty contents. He was a happycamper,” said Curtis.

Curtis, who was in Louisiana forthree months, said the toughest partwas being away from his kids. “I talkedto my kids every other day,” he said. “Iused them as my motivation to keepgoing. They loved to tell their classmatesthat their Daddy’s down in Louisianahelping put houses back together.”

Adjusters lives have been disrupt-ed almost as much as the policy-holders they serve as they work sevendays a week, often 12-14 hours a dayfor weeks, even months, and some-times far from their homes andfamilies. It is not uncommon foradjusters to miss Christmas, holidaysand birthdays.

Deborah Bonura, who has beenwith State Farm for 10 years, said onething that’s difficult for adjusters is try-ing to have a social life. “I can be gonesix months at a time; it doesn’t helpwith relationships,” she smiled, adding,“but how can we complain when thesepeople have lost everything?”

Chris Hamilton, who has beenwith State Farm for seven years,

agreed that work/life issues are a chal-lenge. “People need their families.Kids need their parents. But the com-pany does a lot to help out; they’revery supportive.”

Becky Haines of Camp Hill,Pennsylvania, an adjuster for ForemostInsurance Company, had to tell hertwo sons, ages 16 and 10, that shewould be going to Texas for threeweeks to handle hurricane claims.“My youngest son cried for two days.”Haines also is a full-time student atDuquesne University. She had towithdraw from her classes for anentire semester because of her workand that means she’ll lose some grantmoney. “It’ll just delay things a bit,”she said of her quest to get a collegedegree.

Insurance adjusters have alsostepped up to the plate in handlingthousands of vehicles that were dam-aged or destroyed in the disaster.“We’re trying to do all we can for ourpolicyholders,” said GEICO insur-ance adjuster Brett Monnier, whodonned a mask to protect him fromany contaminants as he inspected acar. “We identify the car, but we wearprotective gear since we don’t know

11

Insurance Claims

Adjusters Chris

Hamilton and

Deborah Bonura

take a break

from one of their

more stressful

days in Biloxi,

Mississippi.Insurance Adjuster Brett Monnier

settles a vehicle claim for one of

GEICO’s policyholders.

Continued on page 18

MetLife adjuster,

Pete O'Connor, is a

veteran of many

catastrophes.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Met

Life

.

Photo: Loretta Worters.

Photo: courtesy of GEIC

O.

12

Global Day ofService

Since 1985, The ACE

Group of Companies has

been serving the insurance

needs of businesses around the

world. ACE has also served the

needs of community groups and

other organizations through its

charitable activities in the locations

where its employees live and work

and through its foundations.

To mark the company’s 20thanniversary, ACE Limited

President and Chief Executive OfficerEvan Greenberg wanted to give backto the communities where the com-pany has conducted business all theseyears. Eden Kratchman, executivedirector of the ACE INA Foundation,spearheaded efforts for employeesaround the globe to embark on thecompany’s most ambitious project todate. On November 7, ACE launcheda Global Day of Service where morethan 5,000 ACE employees from 36

countries contributed to more than170 projects in more than 100 cities.

“We wanted to mark our anniver-sary by making a meaningful andlasting impact in the communities inwhich we work and live,” Greenbergsaid. “Our offices around the worldselected the organizations they wishedto support. The projects were wide-ranging but they all had oneimportant thing in common: theyanswered a need in their community.”

ACE’s U.S.-based employees par-ticipated in more than 70 projects in

32 cities, providing tens of thousandsof hours of volunteer service. Nearly500 volunteers from the Philadelphiaoffice, for example, worked one-on-one with public school students aspart of a program for beginning andremedial readers; raked leaves,removed invasive vegetation and per-formed other clean-up tasks at publicparks; assisted at three food banks;painted at a center for literacy; andhelped build a house as part of theHabitat for Humanity program.

Elsewhere in the U.S., employees

ACE volunteers assist students with their reading skills.

in the Portland, Oregon, office painted, landscaped and collectedfood and clothing donations in aid ofthe West Women’s Shelter, whichserves battered and abused womenand children.

Meanwhile, in Europe, ACERussia employees held a fundraisingdrive, collecting money and materialgoods for Vdohnovenie Rehabili-tation Centre for Child Orphans inMoscow. And in Asia, employees inSingapore performed a variety of tasksat Melrose Home, a facility operatedby the Children’s Aid Society thathouses 45 young people ages 3-20who require care and protection.

Some projects were built on anexisting relationship. In Argentina,for example, ACE employees foundeda center three years ago in MarcosPaz, a poor area of Buenos Airesprovince. Every day the center feedssome 100 disadvantaged school-agedchildren and elderly to ensure thatthey have nutritionally-balanced diets.On the Global Day of Service, ACEemployees donated a month’s worth

of provisions while volunteers alsofixed the shelter’s roof, thereby deliv-ering both immediate and long-termpositive impact to a vital community.

In Bermuda, more than 200employees volunteered at variousorganizations, including the cleaningup of the water reservoir and touchpool at the Bermuda Aquarium andZoo. ACE employees also volunteeredat Lefroy House, a rest home for

elderly residents, where they cleanedfloors and wheelchairs, assisted resi-dents at meal time and on bus rides,and provided friendship and enter-tainment.

Alan Stokes, of the Reading,United Kingdom office, took hisEuropean e-commerce team to ahome for children with cerebral palsy.There they joined employees from thecompany’s Crawley office where theydid heavy lifting and digging as theteam gardened, paved and paintedbenches at the facility.

“It was really good fun and itturned into a team-building effort aswell,” Stokes said. “The charity is bet-ter for our efforts and so is our team—a great success all round.” ■

13

ACE volunteers pack up food and supplies for needy families.

ACE employees

finish up a volunteer

project for Habitat

for Humanity of Philadelphia.

Photos courtesy of The AC

E Group.

Fiscal management. Resource allo-cation. Facilities administration.

Concerns of the modern-day insur-ance enterprise or Fortune 1000company? Sure, but these are alsoessential concerns of every not-for-profit organization. The demands aregreat for any community center,domestic violence network or chil-dren’s cancer camp: leveraging limitedresources to meet the needs of clients.But money alone does not address allof the challenges facing today’s chari-table organizations.

“Too often we’re just living in the moment, just trying to getthrough the day,” said Sister BertaSailer, executive director of OperationBreakthrough in Kansas City,Missouri. “There’s precious little timeto step back and look at the big pic-ture and how we could be doing

things more efficiently.”Sister Berta, along with Sister

Corita Bussanmas, founded KansasCity’s Operation Breakthrough in 1971because the central city needed qualitychildcare for “working poor” families.

Today, the center serves morethan 450 children each day, providinga broad range of social services, fromEarly Start/Head Start programmingfor preschoolers, Summer Enrichmentactivities for school-aged children topediatric and adult health clinics andfamily education programs and emer-gency assistance.

For six years, GE InsuranceSolutions, headquartered in KansasCity, has been a corporate partner ofOperation Breakthrough. Employeeshave performed numerous “patch andpaint” projects on the center’s agingbuilding. They have donated books

and computers and taken time out of their job every month to readbooks to the kids at the center. Thecompany has a tradition of charitablegiving to Operation Breakthrough;this year GE Insurance Solutionsdonated $40,000 to the organization’sSummer Enrichment program, whichprovides adult-supervised educationaland recreational activities for 250children ages 6 through 16.

Operation Breakthrough isunique in many ways. Walkingthrough its expansive childcare facilitythere is a sense that this is a placewhere making a genuine connectionwith the child is valued. These arechildren who come from extreme fami-ly conditions, including having one

14

Operation Breakthrough: Making a Connection With Children

Left: Kids at Operation Breakthrough

work on a cheerful poster. Below: Olisa

Gravney of GE Insurance Solutions (r)

works with Keyonna Robinson-Clark of

Operation Breakthrough on data entry

and administrative processes.

Phot

o: M

elis

sa M

oshe

r, O

pera

tion

Brea

kthr

ough

. Photo: John G

riggs, GE Insurance Solutions.

parent, no parents or being homeless. GE Insurance Solutions employee

John Griggs serves as corporate “cham-pion” for Operation Breakthrough.When he isn’t helping implement thetechnology that will one day link all ofthe company’s legacy finance systems,he often meets with OperationBreakthrough staff or spends his freetime helping out at the center.

“What differentiates OperationBreakthrough is the focus on teachingparents to express themselves and tovalue their own lives,” said Griggs. “Theintention is to encourage them to passthat self-esteem on to their children.”

To Griggs and his colleagues,there is no doubt OperationBreakthrough is a worthy organiza-tion that is aligned perfectly with GEInsurance Solutions’ charitable mis-sion: to help at-risk and disadvantagedchildren gain essential advantages inorder to learn and develop.

“The question lately has become,‘How can we help maximize our effortsfor the long-term?’” said Ben Harber, avolunteer leader and employee withGE Insurance Solutions. “We lookedaround and realized that as a company

we have so many advantages that thesecharitable organizations don’t have, andwe have so much to give.”

According to Harber, it was thissoul-searching that served as the inspira-tion for “Capacity Building,” somethingHarber says is going to “change thegame” of corporate philanthropy.

Capacity Building is the termapplied to the next generation of vol-unteerism and giving, according toHarber. “They are building a beauti-ful facility next to their existingbuilding; we have experts in facilitiesmanagement who can help them useall of that space more efficiently. They have multiple IT systems thatcan’t talk to each other; we have ITexperts who can eliminate theirheadaches. They lack some standardHR procedures; we have HumanResources experts who excel atprocess improvement. The possibili-ties are tremendous,” Harber said.

GE volunteers, including Harberand Griggs, held a daylong “vision-ing” session with the staff ofOperation Breakthrough to identifythe center’s strategic shortcomingsand operational needs. The group

emerged with a clear plan: to deployGE Insurance Solutions’ best andbrightest employees to share theirexpertise to help Operation Break-through solve its most challengingbusiness issues.

“The GE Insurance Solutionsbrand is built on sharing practical riskexpertise with our customers to helpthem succeed,” said Harber. “Wesaid, ‘if this is what we truly believein, why not do it for our charitablepartners too?’”

Today, you can find Marilyn Hallor Louie DiMiceli of GE InsuranceSolutions working alongside SisterBerta and Education CoordinatorAileen Murphy-Swift on transition andspace planning. On a given day youmay find Jason Houseworth of the IT Department sitting down withOperation Breakthrough CFO SteveCallahan to discuss IT system opti-mization. Or you may find Pete Gustincollaborating with OperationBreakthrough’s Development DirectorMarsha Gillespie on getting the mostout of the organization’s grants process.

“There’s a general feeling amongthe staff that we are working smarteras an organization,” said Sister Berta.“We still have a long way to go, butour partners at GE InsuranceSolutions have already shown us thevalue of strategic thinking, and thatin itself is a huge step.”

“You can give somebody $40,000and they’ll use it as best as they can,”said Griggs. “But if you help themmaximize their resources and improvetheir processes, then that $40,000becomes $400,000.” ■

15

John Novaria, GE Insurance Solutions,

reads to children at Operation

Breakthrough.

Phot

o: J

ohn

Grig

gs, G

E In

sura

nce

Solu

tions

.

16

Most student-athletes, likeyoung people in general, donot get much information

about personal finance in high school,at college or at home. And accordingto a recent survey by The HartfordFinancial Services Group, these arelessons they wish they had; 75 percentof student-athletes surveyed said theywould like to have been taught moreabout how to plan for their financialfuture after college.

“I graduated in May and had somany important decisions to make,”said Jeff Otis, a former ColumbiaUniversity football player, who gradu-ated in 2005 with a degree ineconomics. “As a student-athlete, Ididn’t think about things like forminga budget or various investmentoptions. These are issues that are atthe forefront of my mind now.”

In order to help student-athletesget a jump-start on their personalfinances, The Hartford has beenworking closely with the NCAA to

develop a national educational pro-gram called Playbook for Life.

Launched in spring 2005, the pro-gram provides practical, educationalcontent about financial planning basicsin a way that is engaging and relevantto student-athletes. From understand-ing the risks of bad credit to budgetingfor housing and living costs, TheHartford’s Playbook for Life program —encapsulated in a 25-page guidebookand Web site of the same name — isdesigned to help student-athletes makesmart decisions about personal financeissues.

“For The Hartford, Playbook forLife is about educating student-ath-letes and young adults on theimportance of planning for theirfinancial future,” said The Hartford’sChairman and CEO Ramani Ayer.“This program is a natural extensionof The Hartford’s philanthropic focuson education and our corporate part-nership with the NCAA.”

A key component of the Playbook

for Life program is a series of events at college campuses across the country.Colleges hosting Playbook events re-ceive a lively presentation of personalfinance basics by members of TeamHartford, former student-athletes whohave succeeded in both sports andnon-athletic careers. By sharing theirexperiences and lessons learned, theserole models help bring to life impor-tant personal finance concepts.Attendees also receive the guidebookto help them apply what they’velearned to their own lives. The pro-gram and materials are provided tothe schools free of charge.

“Students, and student-athletes inparticular, are craving financial knowl-edge,” said Team Hartford CaptainAllen Pinkett, a former University ofNotre Dame All-American runningback who enjoyed a seven-year NFLcareer before joining The Hartford’sIndividual Life sales team.

“I wish I had access to some ofthis information when I was in college,

The nation’s 360,000 National Collegiate Athletic Association

(NCAA) student-athletes might be pros at juggling team

practices, class work and the occasional night out on the

town, but credit scores and retirement savings are often the farthest

things from their minds — although they shouldn’t be.

Helping Student-AthletesGet a Jump Start on Their

Financial Future

so I could have avoided some of thecostly financial mistakes I made lateron,” added Pinkett, who, like manyother student-athletes, focused moreon his studies and sports training thanhis finances. He views his involvementin Playbook for Life as a way to relaysome of the valuable information hehas since learned about personalfinance to other students-athletes whocan relate to his experiences.

To date, Team Hartford membershave visited Columbia University,Duke University, Rice University, theUniversity of Hartford, Saint JosephUniversity and Saint Louis University,with additional campus visits beingplanned for 2006.

“Playbook for Life is proving to bea terrific resource for student-ath-letes,” said NCAA President MylesBrand. “Most recognize they stand togain a great deal by learning to man-age their money wisely. We are excitedto be working with The Hartford toeducate student-athletes nationwideabout this essential life skill.”

More than 23,000 copies of thePlaybook have been distributed so far.Requests have come from students,parents, coaches, administrators,teachers and The Hartford’s ownemployees, who are sharing the guidewith friends and family members.Upon reviewing the Playbook, theboard of directors of the NationalAssociation of Basketball Coachesrequested that copies be mailed to allDivision I head coaches.

“This program should be madeavailable to all student-athletes,” saidPhil Martelli, head coach of SaintJoseph University Division I men’sbasketball team and one of thePlaybook’s most ardent advocates.“I’m delighted Saint Joseph’s offered itto our students. I even shared the

Playbook with my own children.”For a number of students,

Playbook for Life has been a wake-upcall, prompting them to begin thinkingabout their finances as they prepare forthe next phase of their lives.

“A lot of student-athletes don’treally think about these thingsbecause we’re focused on the presentday, not our financial situations afterschool,” said Colleen Winter, formercaptain of the women’s volleyballteam at Washington University in St. Louis, who earned her bachelor’sdegree in biology in May 2005 and iscurrently working towards a master’sin physical therapy at WashingtonUniversity School of Medicine. “ThePlaybook made me look at the largerpicture and think about the future.”

Winter joined Pinkett, NCAAPresident Myles Brand, SyracuseUniversity Men’s Basketball CoachJim Boeheim and an elite panel ofbasketball coaches, administrators andformer student-athletes, in a sympo-sium hosted by The Hartford duringthe 2005 NCAA Men’s Final Four in St. Louis, Missouri. The panel discussed the challenges and opportu-nities facing student-athletes as theytransition to life after sports.

“Athletes tend to be leaders oncampus,” said Pinkett. “Being ableto provide them with informationthey crave and information theyneed gives The Hartford an entrée to other students who also need ourhelp.”

Based on the positive feedbackabout the Playbook for Life program,The Hartford plans to expand itsscope even further. “We know wehave struck a responsive chord whencolleges start calling us, asking us tobring the Playbook for Life to theircampus,” said Ayer. ■

17

Team Hartford Captain Allen Pinkett

(top) presents personal finance basics

to student athletes; Pinkett (below) in

his days as a running back for the

University of Notre Dame.

Photo: Allen Pinkett.Photo: Steve Laschever.

what’s in or on the cars,” heexplained.

Technology is an importantaspect of the claims process. AllstateInsurance Company, the second-largest property insurer in the areahit by Hurricane Katrina, linkedclaims adjusters to its Chicago head-quarters systems through mobilevans to speed claims adjustment. Thevans have satellite communicationshookups to relay claims informationgathered by the adjusters in the fieldto headquarters systems withoutwaiting for regular telephone serviceto be restored. “Our biggest problemhas been communication,” saidadjuster Charlie Urban, who ran

Allstate’s operation in Chalmette,Louisiana. “It’s practically impossibleto get a call through down here, sothey come to us and we connectthem with their adjuster. We’re basi-cally facilitating communication.”

Urban said, “Homeowners are ina state of shock. They’re wonderingwhere they’re going to go from here,where they’re going to live. It’s a ter-rible situation.”

Allstate is one of several insur-ance companies with trailers at thedisaster relief center, which openedin the parking lot of a Wal-Martstore on East Judge Perez Drive inChalmette. To make it easier for pol-icyholders to file or check on theirclaims, insurers have also set updozens of mobile response units,usually in the parking lot of a big

retailer such as Home Depot or Wal-Mart. The Chalmette operation,however, is one of the few in whichmore than one insurance company isrepresented. The center has drawnhundreds of former St. Bernard’sParish residents each day.

Ray Stone, vice president of catastrophe management for St. PaulTravelers who oversees a staff of 640adjusters from the main storm officein Houston, Texas, noted that thebiggest problems early on were com-munication. “People were displacedand getting claims to us in a variety ofways, including calling in,” he said.“Hurricane Katrina was one of themost horrific disasters in our nation’shistory,” said Stone, “and it’s an expe-rience these adjusters will rememberfor the rest of their lives.” ■

18

ADJUSTERScontinued from page 11

Phot

o: F

rase

r Eng

erm

an, S

tate

Far

m.