Wind and hail are a common occurrence this time of year. Already this spring severe storms have damaged thousands of homes and vehicles across the country. A North Texas resident rebuilding her home following a fall tornado is proof the weather warnings ring true. Priceless memories can be lost.

The college soccer star feared four championship rings were gone forever when fall storms hit her home. A claims inspection weeks later, blocks away and unrelated to her own, turned her fear to joy.

A Terrifying Experience

When one of 10 tornadoes threatened Chelsea Raymond’s Garland, Texas, neighborhood Oct. 18, friends and family called concerned about her safety. Chelsea quickly took shelter with her dog under a mattress in the bathroom.

“Loud noises, everything breaking. Then, it went silent.” Chelsea, who is already scared of storms, said the experience was terrifying. Her home took a direct hit from an EF-2 tornado that tore through with 135 mile per hour winds. Emerging from the bathroom, she was thankful to be uninjured and hopeful not too much damage had occurred. She quickly saw her car and home had been destroyed.

“It was a shock, but the main thing is I was OK and my dog was OK, because that’s something no one can replace, but the other stuff I can. Of course it was sad to have to replace everything, but I’m OK with it,” she said.

Some of the personal property had priceless sentimental value. Chelsea starred as a soccer starter her four years at Texas’ Stephen F. Austin University. Chelsea and her teammates won four conference championships, creating a lifetime of memories. But, her treasured championship rings that helped relive those moments were carried away by the twister.

“I just think this tornado took everything where it wanted to take it,” Chelsea said. Her four championship rings couldn’t be found among the mangled debris. Luckily, two have been recovered, one by a neighbor in an alley, another on a random roof re-inspection.

Three Blocks Over

Looking at damaged roofs across Dallas – Fort Worth isn’t uncommon. According to State Farm^® claims data, Texas had more claims paid related to wind and hail than any other state in 2019. It’s sometimes what you find that is unique.

“I walked around the back of the roof for measurements and photos and something caught my eye,” said Jacob Kilcrease, State Farm Claims Specialist. Through random assignment, he was three blocks from Chelsea’s home about three months after the tornado. He jokes he finds toys often and first thought it was a ring from a gumball machine, but quickly realized it had much more meaning.

“When I originally found the ring, I saw the name, inscription, and immediately Googled the name and found a local news article that she was missing the ring.”

With the help of social media and a local news station, Jacob reunited the ring with Chelsea, making it one of the more unique discoveries and rewarding claims he’s worked.

“It’s almost like a needle in a haystack. I didn’t really believe it,” Chelsea said of the call informing her the second of her four missing rings had been found.

Jacob was amazed at all the coincidences that had to happen in order for him to come across Chelsea’s ring. From the ring hitting and staying put on a State Farm customer’s roof to that customer getting randomly drawn for re-inspection and the customer allowing it, “the stars had to align for all of that to take place. The odds of that happening are just unbelievable.”

Wind and hail are a common occurrence this time of year. Already this spring severe storms have damaged thousands of homes and vehicles across the country. A North Texas resident rebuilding her home following a fall tornado is proof the weather warnings ring true. Priceless memories can be lost.

The college soccer star feared four championship rings were gone forever when fall storms hit her home. A claims inspection weeks later, blocks away and unrelated to her own, turned her fear to joy.

A Terrifying Experience

When one of 10 tornadoes threatened Chelsea Raymond’s Garland, Texas, neighborhood Oct. 18, friends and family called concerned about her safety. Chelsea quickly took shelter with her dog under a mattress in the bathroom.

“Loud noises, everything breaking. Then, it went silent.” Chelsea, who is already scared of storms, said the experience was terrifying. Her home took a direct hit from an EF-2 tornado that tore through with 135 mile per hour winds. Emerging from the bathroom, she was thankful to be uninjured and hopeful not too much damage had occurred. She quickly saw her car and home had been destroyed.

“It was a shock, but the main thing is I was OK and my dog was OK, because that’s something no one can replace, but the other stuff I can. Of course it was sad to have to replace everything, but I’m OK with it,” she said.

Some of the personal property had priceless sentimental value. Chelsea starred as a soccer starter her four years at Texas’ Stephen F. Austin University. Chelsea and her teammates won four conference championships, creating a lifetime of memories. But, her treasured championship rings that helped relive those moments were carried away by the twister.

“I just think this tornado took everything where it wanted to take it,” Chelsea said. Her four championship rings couldn’t be found among the mangled debris. Luckily, two have been recovered, one by a neighbor in an alley, another on a random roof re-inspection.

Three Blocks Over

Looking at damaged roofs across Dallas – Fort Worth isn’t uncommon. According to State Farm^® claims data, Texas had more claims paid related to wind and hail than any other state in 2019. It’s sometimes what you find that is unique.

“I walked around the back of the roof for measurements and photos and something caught my eye,” said Jacob Kilcrease, State Farm Claims Specialist. Through random assignment, he was three blocks from Chelsea’s home about three months after the tornado. He jokes he finds toys often and first thought it was a ring from a gumball machine, but quickly realized it had much more meaning.

“When I originally found the ring, I saw the name, inscription, and immediately Googled the name and found a local news article that she was missing the ring.”

With the help of social media and a local news station, Jacob reunited the ring with Chelsea, making it one of the more unique discoveries and rewarding claims he’s worked.

“It’s almost like a needle in a haystack. I didn’t really believe it,” Chelsea said of the call informing her the second of her four missing rings had been found.

Jacob was amazed at all the coincidences that had to happen in order for him to come across Chelsea’s ring. From the ring hitting and staying put on a State Farm customer’s roof to that customer getting randomly drawn for re-inspection and the customer allowing it, “the stars had to align for all of that to take place. The odds of that happening are just unbelievable.”

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State Farm was a big part of this year’s All Star game both on AND off the court! Take a look at some highlights of the big event.

OK, we have to immediately dive into that first one. Opioids? Yes. Consider this:

• The risks associated with negligence, fraud, deceptive marketing and over-prescription are significant.
• The opioid crisis impacts people all around the world; however, most claims come from towns, districts or municipalities, rather than individuals.
• The Society of Actuaries estimates the total economic burden of the opioid crisis in the U.S. from 2015 to 2018 was $631 billion.

This was one of several topics State Farm® and other insurers discussed at a conference of the Geneva Association – the leading international think tank of the insurance industry, which pursues “Insurance for a Better World.”

State Farm, a member the past eight years, hosted the event in late 2019, gaining insight into how international policymakers think about various regulatory matters.

"There is both inherent competition and a wide range of differing points of view within the insurance industry from a global perspective,” said Kevin Frederick, Vice President – Counsel in the Law Department. “But there are also real societal and global issues that transcend all of us, and emerging forms of risk that impact all of us.”

“Perhaps the most important takeaway for me,” he said, “has been not only learning more about differing points of view within the international industry, but also how these differing points of view are interconnected with our shared values.”

Other interesting topics:

Artificial intelligence (AI)

• AI is a rapidly evolving area that crosses all forms of business in various ways.
• As AI continues to evolve, new and emerging risks follow, with complex considerations from a legal, ethical and cultural perspective.
• A new area of research and regulation centers on why machines make the decisions they do.

Ride sharing

• As ride-sharing continues to surge in popularity, there are fragmented approaches toward regulating risk and liability across cities, states and countries.
• The ride-sharing experience from an insurance, risk and liability perspective is complex. For example, consider when and how coverage applies before, during and after a driver and passenger engage in a ride-sharing experience.
• Insurance, risk and liability are based on historical loss patterns and predictive outcomes. The ride-sharing economy lacks historical data and is continually influenced by evolving forms of technology and AI.

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Watch Full Video

See the announcement & panel discussion on the “future of work”

State Farm^® and Arizona State University are partnering to offer funding and opportunities for students through the State Farm Education Assist® program.

Through a $30 million charitable donation, State Farm will support ASU’s Pathways for the Future program, providing new online learning tracks, certificate programs and scholarships. With this partnership, we are committing to helping the current and future workforce build skills for the future.

“At State Farm, we believe in lending a hand to build safer, stronger and better-educated communities. With the rapid pace of technological change underway, this means supporting our current and future workforce in adapting and responding to these shifts,” said State Farm Chairman and CEO Michael Tipsord. “As a good neighbor, we’re committed to helping people realize their dreams through education programs and through Pathways for the Future, we look forward to growing this commitment together with ASU.”

Pathways for the Future (PFF) is aimed toward high school, community college and university students, as well as lifelong learners already in the workforce who are interested in new and evolving jobs. It has four components:

• Online courses, academic tracks (including STEM) and certificate programs – all courses are credentialed for transcript credit and employees will be able to take advantage by using their tuition reimbursement benefit.
• Financial Support and Scholarships – to assist students on a path to a certificate, undergraduate or graduate degree.
• Tools for Success – redesigned with improved degree mapping for transfer students, and an updated career assessment tool to help students discover their career interests.
• Pathways Career Transitions and Success Center – increased focus on engaging students on the web, through social media, or via mobile applications, resources and student support ensure that PFF State Farm Scholars are career ready.

The PFF programs will be available for tuition reimbursement to all eligible State Farm employees with at least one year of service. The courses are also accessible virtually, providing a learning platform for employees outside of Arizona to continue personal development.

This is the second location to be part of the Education Assist program. State Farm also partners with Georgia State University Decatur Perimeter campus, which was announced in April 2017.
 

Related Story: Program Helps Students Give Back

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For 11 years, a garage sale has brought a community together.

Kathy Schumacher, Underwriting service assistant in Charlottesville, Va., started the garage sale with then coworker Darlene Lyons. Darlene had a friend who was homebound and needed a lot of help, which she received through the local Meals on Wheels program. So, Darlene decided to raise money to benefit the organization.

They didn’t want to just fundraise, they wanted to provide an event.

The Fluvanna (County) Meals on Wheels Garage Sale was created as a way to not only fundraise, but to provide an opportunity for people to donate goods they no longer needed. Someone’s trash is another’s treasure, as they say.

“We collect donated items at our houses and then take them to where we are hosting the sale. We clean, restore, price, organize and sort everything,” Kathy said.

Kathy has used a week of her paid time off to organize and manage the garage sale every year, and every year she invites her State Farm^® colleagues to volunteer with her.

“When I saw the email that we got a second CSES (Community Service and Education Support) team day, I made sure to mention that to my coworkers in all divisions – production, call center, Underwriting. Every year, the sale gets bigger and bigger so we can use all the hands we can get.”

“Kathy saw the opportunity for people to do two days. She started building buzz around the office and was able to get people who had not used the CSES,” said Sabrina Morris, Underwriting support supervisor. “One employee said they would have not used the CSES day because volunteering can be intimidating by yourself, but this person was able to pair up with someone they knew and volunteer together. It encouraged more employees to do it.”

Kathy said 24-28 State Farm colleagues volunteered in 2019 for the nine-hour day, helping to raise $17,750, plus a Good Neighbor Grant® Team Program application provided another $500.

Sabrina accepted Kathy’s invitation to volunteer for the first time.

“It was a really welcoming environment,” Sabrina said. “It was nice to be there with people you knew. You were volunteering, but it felt less like volunteering and more like doing something good with people you enjoy being around.”

“It is such a positive environment. Everyone is so happy and wants to reach the same goal,” Kathy added. “The team day did a lot because you were able to get to know somebody you see, but can’t talk to them, such as at the call center.”

And it all comes back to what the mission is – help seniors receive nourishment and interactions they may not get otherwise.

“It’s just something I believe in. No one should be alone and no one should go without food,” Kathy said.

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After being displaced by Hurricane Michael in 2018 and having a lousy holiday, 3-year-old Bridges and his mother, Christie, were due for a positive experience.

And this Christmas had all the signs of being a good one.

Christie had saved and bought Bridges new toys and clothes. She was excited to surprise him on Christmas morning. As part of the holiday spirit, she encouraged him to gather up toys he had outgrown to give to charity.

New and old, everything was locked in Christie’s car overnight to keep Bridges’ curiosity at bay.

Then the unimaginable happened.

Thieves broke into Christie’s car and took everything as part of a burglary spree in her neighborhood. Christie was distraught and heartbroken.

She had renter’s insurance and called State Farm Claims. The record of her call showed up in Agent Lad Drago’s office in Spanish Fort, Ala.

Agent Team Members Rebecca Grizzle and Cat Holladay saw the claim first that morning.

“It immediately pulled at our heart strings,” Cat says. “Because her deductible exceeded the value of the items stolen, we couldn’t help from an insurance standpoint, but we still wanted to do something.”

With Lad’s permission, Cat and Rebecca pooled their money and asked other agent team members if they wanted to donate. The pair went shopping over their lunch hour and that evening, wrapped the gifts at home that night and brought them back to the office the next morning.

The next day, Rebecca called and told her they had a few questions about the break-in and asked her to stop by the office.

“She came to the office that morning and brought Bridges with her,” Cat says. “We sat her down, and Lad told her all the gifts under the tree were for Bridges. She broke down crying right there in the chair. She kept saying over and over about how no one had ever done anything like that for her.”

“It made my holiday season that we could do this for her,” Rebecca says. “Her face was so full of gratitude.”

“I know I have a great team,” Lad says. “But it was a reminder of how much they care about customers and people in general.”

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We took Cheryl’s She Shed to BravoCon. Superfans and Bravo influencers recently gathered for the 3-day event in New York. They immersed themselves in favorite shows and interacted with Bravolebs (Bravo celebrities) at live panels and performances.

They also got to hang out in the chichier She Shed. The pop-up featured a television, branded macarons, State Farm^® red nail polish, celebrity guests and more. Take a look at some of our favorite photos.

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We are fortunate to live in a world where various cultures and populations celebrate diverse holidays and recognize different observances. Learning about the traditions of others helps us better connect. In this video, State Farm^® employees talk about what’s important to them this time of year. Visit the Holiday Highlights site to learn about celebrations taking place in the last quarter of the year.

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The beauty that comes with West Coast scenery is something extraordinary to behold – the warm breeze hits your face as you take in the expansive landscape. Trees bustling with wildlife, bees busy pollinating flowers, mountain tops looming in the distance or the tide hitting the sandy beach….

And then your stomach growls, bringing you back to reality.

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) with her partner, Terry (street name: Pony Boy), Onya Jensen found awe-inspiring majesty in her surroundings, even as they struggled to feed themselves.

“I really do miss waking up on a new beach every day, but eating out of trash cans was not the greatest, and having to walk to find work was hard,” Onya said.

Before leaving Arizona to hit the PCT, both Onya and Pony Boy found support and a family with the Aris Foundation – an organization devoted to helping the hungry, needy and politically under-represented homeless adults in Arizona. Onya had been on the streets since she was a teen, holding jobs while completing high school. Pony Boy found support from the organization to get sober, and the foundation helped get them both off the streets.

Every Tuesday, Aris Foundation provides meals, hygiene products and snack packs for the homeless.

“Pony Boy used to come out every Tuesday and then he brought Onya. They needed help to get off the streets, and we helped them furnish their place,” said Aris Foundation Founder and CEO Katherine Kouvelas. “You would never know she was struggling then.”

Returning from the PCT, Onya was able to get back on her feet with a job as a claim associate at State Farm^® – a similar position she had before heading to the trail – and now she dedicates her time to volunteering with the Aris Foundation.

“I love seeing the faces. I call them my family. I want them to succeed and get sober and see them happy,” said Onya. “The Aris Foundation means community to me. It’s the community that shows up to that park on Tuesday, rain or shine, with no class separation. A full belly and a warm blanket is all any of them want.”

“Onya is very customer focus oriented and takes pride in assisting her customers to the furthest point. She recognizes the importance of remarkable recovery opportunities and takes ownership of the customer experience,” said Franklin Banaszewski, Onya’s claim team manager. “Onya is a great resource to new associates. She is always willing to assist a peer in need!”

Because of her volunteer efforts, Onya was able to provide a $500 State Farm Good Neighbor Grant^® to the foundation. She used that money to provide a burrito dinner to about 150 Arizona homeless.

“When people like Onya and Pony Boy come back out and show everyone still out there that they did it, they’re showing them it’s possible. It’s not easy, but they can do it, too,” Katherine said. “Onya is articulate, beautiful, intelligent. You couldn’t get a better spokesperson. She has had to fight for everything and she still stays positive and happy.”

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When wildfires devastated California communities in 2018, Aaron Rodgers' hometown of Chico was among them. He teamed up with State Farm^® to help the area's long-term recovery.

Aaron donated $1 million to the North Valley Community Foundation and challenged others to #Retweet4Good. State Farm Neighborhood of Good^® also donated $1 million. Countless others joined in. All told, $3 million was raised. 

Now, a year later, the Aaron Rodgers NorCal Fire Recovery Fund is actively making grants. The funds are supporting kids' programs, youth and high school sports, and transitional and permanent housing. 

Rodgers was recently a guest on the Pat McAfee show. McAfee complimented the work he and State Farm have done promoting wildfire relief.

“I just got all of the stats sent to me about what you and State Farm have been able to do for California Wildfire relief,” McAfee said. “Incredible work.”

“State Farm has been a great partner for a long time with some good commercials. With their Neighborhood of Good, they already do a ton of great stuff," Rodgers said. “Last year, I felt compelled to help out the area I grew up in, and they stepped up and donated $1 million alongside me.”

Rodgers talked about the impact the fires had on his hometown and surrounding communities, including Paradise.

“To have two bad fires in two years, it’s been tough on those fine folks,” Rodgers said. “But there have been a lot of great people helped by the donations of State Farm and some other amazing folks in the state and across the country. It’s been fun to see people come together.”