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LOS ANGELES, CA-(May 22, 2008)-California-based Farmers Insurance, a subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services, announced today its position as the largest all-lines insurance group in California. Farmers’ growth combined with the growth of Zurich makes the enterprise the largest property and casualty insurance group in California, according to a report by the California Department of Insurance.

“We are proud to be the largest insurance group in our country’s largest state,” said Paul N. Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer of Farmers Group Inc. “This distinction demonstrates our industry leading growth; and our commitment to our customers and the communities we serve.”

The combined Farmers and Zurich insurance companies offer a wide array of insurance products including homeowners, automobile, life, financial services, specialty products and business insurance across the United States. Farmers Group Inc. is headquartered in Los Angeles and has been
in business since 1928.

Farmers Insurance also announced that that its life insurance company, Farmers New World Life, led the California market in life insurance sales in 2007 and is now the fastest growing life insurance  company in California.

“To lead California in growing all lines of our business is a real tribute to our thousands of agents and employees,” said Stephen J. Feely, Senior Vice President of Field Operations for California. “We’ve
been in business for 80 years and we will continue our daily commitment to the people in California by offering industry leading customer service and superior products.”

The California Department of Insurance report on market share and written insurance premium demonstrates that the Farmers and Zurich group are industry growth leaders in a very competitive marketplace, Feely added.

In California alone, Farmers insures 1.7 million homes, 2.2 million automobiles, 114,500 small businesses and the lives of nearly 400,000 people.

Equally committed to the communities it serves, Farmers has contributed millions of dollars to dozens of charitable organizations. Farmers is also one of the top contributors of the March of Dimes, raising more than $4.5 million dollars in 2007 to help promote healthy beginnings. During its “Be A Hero for Babies” day Farmers Insurance agents, district managers and employees raised more than $2.7 million dollars in one day-the largest single day fundraiser in March of Dimes history.

Farmers Group, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services, an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. FarmersR is the nation’s third-largest Personal Lines Property & Casualty insurance group. Property and casualty products are underwritten and issued by the Farmers Exchanges and their subsidiaries, which Farmers Group, Inc.
manages but does not own. For more information about Farmers, visit our Web site at www.farmers.com.

###

The following table is an excerpt from the California Department of Insurance 2007 Property & Casualty rankings report:

2007 Property & Casualty rankings released by the California DOI:
|———+————————————+————+————|
| Rank | Company | Written | Market || | | premium | share || | | (billions) | |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 1 |Farmers/Zurich | $5.859 | 10.33% |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 2 |State Farm | $4.681 | 8.25% |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 3 |American International Group | $3.684 | 6.49% |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 4 |Allstate | $2.998 | 5.28% |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 5 |State Compensation Insurance Fund | $2.387 | 4.21% |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 6 |Mercury General | $2.316 | 4.08% |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 7 |California State Auto | $2.128 | 3.75% |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 8 |Auto Club Enterprises | $2.098 | 3.70% |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 9 |Travelers | $1.966 | 3.46% |
|———+————————————+————+————|
| 10 |Liberty Mutual | $1.826 | 3.22% |
|———+————————————+————+————|

Dear Tipworks Members:

I hope all of you and your families are safe and doing well. Grace & I were evacuated early Tuesday morning or late Monday night depending on how you look at it!!! We have now returned to our home and I’m happy to report that everything was OK. So far I’ve had three customers loss their homes, so I’ll be very busy helping them out. I look forward to seeing you all next Thursday on November 1st.

The following article about Farmer’s response explains the reason I’m proud to work for Farmers rather than some other company. Take care.

Regards,

Gregg

Latest news

The Southern California wildfires, now in their fourth day, have destroyed more than 1,500 homes and caused at least a half-million people to flee – the largest evacuation in state history. And as numerous fires burn throughout Southern California, Farmers agents and employees continue to mobilize to serve our customers. Leading those efforts from the front has been CEO Paul Hopkins — a visible presence talking to customers and the press at both the Santa Clarita fire relief station and the evacuation site at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium.

In all these contacts, Hopkins has stressed some critical points — points you may also want to share with your staff:

We were first to respond, while others were considering what to do this is Farmers territory, we’re not leaving and there won’t be rate increases or cancellations because of the fires. We’ve extended billing deadlines for those affected by the fires brush abatement will be a key strategy to prevent future fires.

The presence of the CEO on the front line has attracted a lot of favorable media attention. The Los Angeles Times noted that Farmers was first to the scene at Qualcomm. “We want people to see that their insurance company is out here,” the newspaper quoted Hopkins. The article also noted that Farmers was committed to doing the right thing. “Southern California is Farmers’ home and its territory,” Hopkins added. “I hope other carriers don’t look at this as a time to try to take on horrendous rate increases or try to leave the state.”

Hopkins was also interviewed by all the San Diego network TV affiliates, as well as Dow Jones News Service, The San Diego Tribune, CNN Money.com, The San Diego Business Journal, the Annenberg Television Network, Fox Business news, ABC radio, AM Best Weekly, Insurance Journal, KFI radio, KUSI television and a few more.

Other media reports have focused on the fact that the Farmers Mobile Claims Center (MCC) was the first and only insurer response vehicle at the stadium in San Diego — and many noted Farmers’ generosity in feeding more than 1,000 customers and non-customers, and our willingness to make Additional Living Expense (ALE) payments to evacuees at the MCC.

Leading our media relations efforts is VP of State Legislative Affairs and Media Relations Mark Toohey and his team: Media Relations Director Jerry Davies and Media Relations Manager Michelle Levy.

What is UNIX Web Hosting?  What is Windows .NET Web Hosting?  Who really cares?  What really matters is your team that is handling your development and what they are more proficient with, UNIX or Windows. 

It used to matter which platform you chose.  At one point in the short history of the Internet Windows Web Hosting was more flexible and easier to develop dynamic database driven websites, however now a days, with software like Dreamweaver going face to face with microsoft development tools the playing field has been leveled.  In fact, it has even shifted things towards the UNIX platform’s favor with it’s tried and true security, inexpensive maintenance and lack of Microsoft Server licenses fees.

UNIX Web Hosting has been around since the 1969 and with its very simple operating system has had plenty of time to be tested and proven as secure.  Microsoft Windows .NET Web Hosting has been full of bugs since day one, hence security update after security update and server pack after server pack.  UNIX Web Hosting has become so universal that Apple decided to make its operating system UNIX based rather than stay on their own MACOS.

The maintenance on UNIX Web Hosting is much cheaper once you get to running your own servers.  A UNIX CPU can be purchased for as little as $60 – $100 and with the free operating systems UNIX is definitly inexpensive.

Windows and .NET Web Hosting has its advantages as well.  Microsoft of course has published some of the best developement tools on the market to help developers in creating Enterprise level applications (complex projects).  In addition, .NET, is a real programming application that allows you to just about anything you want with a program because of the ability to program web applications in traditional languages like C and C#.  The ability to compile your web application into machine language also speeds the processing of your website and allows you to do more things in the behind the scenes while the user is perusing your website.

When you are pursing your choices for Web hosting, first consider who you are going to be working with to develop your website and make sure that they can work on the Server Environment that you choose (UNIX Web Hosting or Windows .NET Web Hosting).  Then consider your project and what you are going to need.  If you can stay on a UNIX Web Hosting Environment then do it because you will save money in the long run, however if you are planing on doing something that is going to require a Windows .NET Web Hosting Environment, then stay on UNIX as long as possible to save money in the short term!

The recent changes in the mortgage industry are eliminating many potential buyers. As professionals we are searching for alternatives loans that will help buyers qualify. The VA loan program is once again becoming a viable option for buyers and sellers. There are many veterans and active duty military who have not used their VA loan benefits to buy a home. During the last real estate downturn in the early 90′s I specialized in VA loans.

A VA buyer can finance the purchase of a home or condo up to $417,000 with one loan and no money down. If the sales price exceeds $417,000 the VA loan may still be a viable loan, however a small down payment and secondary financing will be required. Seller carry backs are allowed. Interest rates are very competitive and comparable to conforming interest rates. There is no PMI insurance. The seller can pay all closing cost and other sales concessions to help the buyer qualify. SCME offers the VA fixed rate, buydowns and adjustable rate loans.

Warning, do not trust inexperienced loan officers with your VA Buyers. VA loans are a different breed of animal than conventional loans. Most loan officers who have been in the business less than 7 years have not closed a VA loan, even if they work for a major lender. Many mortgage companies and brokers do not have the knowledge and experience necessary to close these loans. This same advice applies to selling agents as well. If you receive an offer on your listing and the buyer is using VA financing you owe it to your seller to insist that the buyer apply with an experienced loan officer and lender.

In my 23 years as a loan officer I have closed hundreds of VA loans. I have also taught VA home buying classes on and off the military bases. SCME Mortgage Bankers is an industry leader in the VA & FHA mortgage business. Together we have the expertise and resources to help you close more sales and increase your profits in this challenging environment.

Call me at 858-592-7090 to learn more about VA and other loan programs that we have available to help you increase your profits. Ask how I can help you build your business by use these loan programs as marketing tools to prospect for clients.

Author Contact Info:
Aaron Johnson
http://www.scmehomeloans.com
(858) 677-2796

Some “bad” news came in yesterday, and the reactions, or I think better put, overreactions, caused a market correction. The Dow fell 3.3%, the S&P 500 fell 3.5% and the NASDAQ fell 3.9%. The last drop this big was on March 24, 2003, an unusually long period of time. Before that, big one-day falls were more common. Between 1997 and 2003, there have been 11 drops equal to or larger than yesterday’s. The “news” supposedly triggering the fall was: a 9% drop in the Chinese stock market overnight, newspaper headlines reporting (incorrectly) that Alan Greenspan said a U.S. recession is likely this year, and a large 7.8% drop in new orders for durable goods in January. I believe all three news items are not particularly important.

Let’s start with China. Yes, they are tightening up on their economy and banking sector a bit, but a 9% drop in this red-hot market is, in my opinion, a drop in the bucket. Over the last year, that market shot up 124%, and when a market shoots up this way, investors tend to be ready to sell—taking their gains—at the first sign of market risk. (It recovered 3.9% last night.)

Regarding the now infamous headlines claiming that Alan Greenspan thought a recession likely in 2007, let’s just look at what he actually did say:

While, yes, it is possible we can get a recession in the latter months of 2007, most forecasters are not making that judgment and indeed are projecting (growth) forward into 2008 …with some slowdown.

It is very hard to twist this into “Greenspan predicting recession”, but reporters managed to do it. In a broad-ranging discussion, Greenspan also called the global economy “benign and stable,” and said the U.S. and global economies are far more resilient now than before to economic and financial shocks.

Finally, there was the Durable Goods Advance Report for Manufacturing. This report shows a 7.8% drop in new orders in January; swings of similar magnitude happen fairly often (twice last year ’ January and October), and in my opinion, are not important. This same report shows other data that I view as more important at present ’ a record high backlog of unfilled orders and the ratio of inventories to sales, up a bit recently, but bouncing off of an all-time record low. I see a huge backlog of orders still to fill and low inventories that are more likely to push production up, not down.

My reading of the economy, and Greenspan’s, is that a recession is unlikely this year. I think that overall the U.S. equity market is in good shape. That said, I do think we are in the midst of performance rotation, and I worry about some of the high-flying asset classes and sectors. As always, please call me with any questions or concerns.

Author Contact Info:
Casey Broach
http://www.lpl.com
858-560-0366