Farmers Dedicates Campus in Agoura Hills, Calif.

Farmers Insurance Group plans to dedicate a new, 120,000-square-foot agent, claims, leadership and management training facility — The University of Farmers — at a ribbon cutting ceremony to be held at 10:45 a.m., Nov. 3, 2006 in Agoura Hills, Calif. The address is 30801 Agoura Hills Road.

Farmers Insurance Group CEO Paul Hopkins said, “The new campus is an expansion of Farmers original dedicated training facility that began in March, 2004 at its original headquarters at the LAX Hilton. After testing the effectiveness of the original facility successfully, we made a decision to expand the University of Farmers’ to Agoura Hills.”

The University of Farmers will be national in scope and will be the centerpiece for offering training to the more than 15,000 Farmers agents; 1,500 new agents; 18,000 employees nationwide; 2,000 new employees; intermediate and advanced training for 7,600 experienced claims staff; and management training for 500 district managers.

“Both the Claims School and the Agency Force School of the University Of Farmers are full-service training and development organizations specializing in the design, development and delivery of state-of-the-art insurance curriculums,” Hopkins noted.

Claims faculty instructors include five senior educational and business directors and managers and 30 support staff. Agent training staff consists of seven faculty instructors, two vice presidents, two directors and 18 support staff, all working in the areas of instructional design, graphics, e-learning and administration..

The University of Farmers has 20 classrooms. The claims training facility has a two-story full-sized mock house that provides participants with hands-on training, video feedback skill-practice rooms, a mock auto bay that can house up to 20 damaged automobiles, and audio visual technology.

The University of Farmers’ agency force training programs focus on growth goals and the skills agents, agency staff and district managers can master. The curriculum at the University of Farmers is tailored specifically to the needs and goals of each agent and district manager.

The University of Farmers’ facility also houses the Martin D. Feinstein Center for Professional Development, which provides resources such as on-line courses and other insurance education programs.