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Storms Bring Out the Best At Alfa
In the wake of the worst hurricane season in U.S. history,
Alfa Insurance not only processed thousands of
claims, but Alfa employees and members of the
Alabama Farmers Federation also gave their time and
money to help Gulf Coast families rebuild.
"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Alfa employees
showed their concern for the many families affected
by this immense storm by donating their resources and
their time, volunteering in many of the recovery efforts,"
said Alfa President Jerry A. Newby. "In addition, our companies
have responded to the tremendous devastation in
western Alabama and in Mississippi by contributing to
relief efforts and by moving as quickly as possible to service
our policyholders.
"Our dedicated claims, marketing and operations staffs
have settled claims extremely fast and efficiently so that
our policyholders could begin to rebuild," Newby added.
"I am proud of our employees, who have volunteered and
contributed so much to the many agencies helping with
disaster relief."
Alfa estimates its claims from this year's hurricanes will
total between $160 million and $180 million. The company's
exposure along the storm-ravaged Mississippi coast is
limited where Alfa's share of the homeowner's market is
about 2.5 percent.
In the days leading up to Hurricanes Dennis and
Katrina, Alfa and the Alabama Farmers Federation put
into effect an updated disaster response plan that helped
speed assistance to members and policyholders.
Additional personnel and resources were staged for
rapid deployment to the affected area, new procedures
were implemented to simplify the claims process, and
hurricane tips were posted to the Federation and Alfa
Insurance websites.
Following the storm, Alfa set up a claims hotline, and
the Federation began working with state and national officials
to assess storm damage and bring relief to farmers
and other residents.
In addition, Alfa agreed to match contributions of its
employees and county Farmers Federations to the
American Red Cross and the American Farm Bureau
Hurricane Ag Fund up to $250,000. In the weeks following
the storm, Alfa and Federation employees contributed
almost $75,000 to the Red Cross, and county Farmers
Federations gave another $11,000 to the charity.
County Federations also gave almost $100,000 to the
Hurricane Ag Fund, which will help farmers with nonreimbursable
losses caused by the hurricanes. A special
contribution also was made to the relief efforts in Bayou
La Batre, the Alabama town hit hardest by Katrina.
Altogether, these contributions and Alfa's corporate
match totaled more than $400,000.
For more information about hurricane relief efforts by
Alfa and the Federation visit www.alfains.com or
www.AlfaFarmers.org.
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