Zurich and Farmers Insurance Re-Affirm Commitment to New Orleans Schools with a New Educational Donation

NEW ORLEANS, Nov 13, 2008 -- Zurich Financial Services and Farmers Insurance Group Inc(R) are proud to announce another educational donation to help enrich New Orleans schools. Farmers’ newest documentary, Across the Waves, will be unveiled in Louisiana on Thursday, November 13, at 11:00 a.m. at a special screening for students at Haynes Academy.

Across the Waves is a chronicle of immigrants from Asian Pacific countries who overcame extreme odds to leave their homeland and seek the American dream. Each story is an emotional journey of Americans from eight different countries: China, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Japan and India. The eight episodes will inspire, educate and promote understanding of the diverse cultures that populate our country and the contributions each make to our national fabric.

“Farmers has a long history of creating and sponsoring quality education programs and providing them at no charge to educators,” said Dave Yezek, assistant vice president of Marketing for Farmers Insurance. “Like our other education programs, the real power of Across the Waves lies in the fact that the stories told are real and unfiltered -- we haven’t just created an educational tool, the original interviews that make up the eight episodes are themselves historical documents that will live on in time.”

The lesson plans that accompany Across the Waves were developed by UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center, the oldest and most respected Asian American studies department in the country.

Across the Waves joins Farmers other groundbreaking education programs, including The American Promise, Liberty’s Apprentice, Freedom’s Song and The Bronze Screen. This year, Zurich and Farmers donated these programs along with televisions with built-in DVD players to 45 high schools in the Orleans and Jefferson Parish School Districts. 10,000 books were also distributed to elementary school students within those school districts. The donation was announced this past March during the Zurich Classic of New Orleans as a continuation of the Birdies for Books program begun in 2007 to benefit schools in the region.

Following the showing of Across the Waves to Haynes students, Harry Dao, a Farmers Insurance agent featured in the video, will speak to the students about his experiences as a Vietnam “boat person.”

The event will be held in the library of Haynes Academy located at: 1416 Metairie Road, Metairie, LA at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 13, 2008. Members of the media are welcome to attend.

“This donation speaks to our commitment to the people of New Orleans and the children of the area,” said Marcus Cooper, regional executive for the South Central region for Zurich. “We believe Across the Waves and all these educational videos and books will leave a lasting impression on the students about courage and determination. Zurich is honored to share this program with Haynes Academy students.”

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. Farmers(R) 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. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Farmers provides homeowners, auto, business, specialty products, life insurance and financial services to more than 10 million households. For more information about Farmers, visit our Web site at www.farmers.com.

Contact Information

Michelle Levy

PR Department

Farmers Insurance Group

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