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.

After competing in the State Farm Coding Competition, the Yale University sophomore realizes State Farm is nothing like what he envisioned.

"Before the coding competition, I really hadn’t thought of State Farm as a potential destination for me,” the computer science major said.

Like many of his peers, Harshal saw insurance as a necessity to drive their car, or protect the stuff in their apartment or dorm room.

That opinion changed when Harshal got turned on to the State Farm Coding Competition by friend and 2016 State Farm Coding Competition winner and three-time finalist Ankur Sundara.

“Ankur had competed in the competition three other times and told me about it,” Harshal said.

The annual State Farm Coding Competition is a two-stage Java competition for college undergraduate students. Students register online individually or as teams. On the day of the competition, they download the problem statement and upload their solution. The top five submissions were invited, expenses paid, to the Marina Heights Hub for the final.

"Ankur and I competed in the qualifying round together,” Harshal said. “It seemed like an interesting opportunity to try something new and work on a real-world problem, not something out of a textbook.”

The competition also identifies programmers for State Farm.

"The Coding Competition gives students some real-world situations, but for State Farm it serves the purpose of advertising State Farm as a tech company and that we have jobs in the tech field,” said Software Developer Josh Storrs, who directs the competition for State Farm. “We are able to spread that word and make young programmers aware of the opportunities here.”

Josh said the goal for the students in the first round is to implement a solution that will make the test cases pass in the most efficient manner possible. The competitors have four hours to finish and State Farm judges use a script to verify how many tests each team passed along with looking at any bonus completed to choose the finalists. The finalists earn $800 per team and receive an expenses-paid trip to State Farm for an on-site final.

The final is more insurance related. The finalists are graded on the cleanliness of their code and how maintainable it is. The finalists also explain how they came to their solution and what benefit it would give the company.

Finalists are graded on both the code and presentation. The winning team earns $1,500.

"They are pretty good at thinking outside of the box and being creative in their solutions,” Josh said. “We don’t give them a whole lot of time so it is impressive how much they are able to do in a small window. Coming up with a nifty solution and being able to present that solution before a panel of judges, it’s impressive.”

"The competition was incredibly well-run and provided me an opportunity to tackle an interesting problem and present my solution to State Farm executives,” Harshal said. “It's definitely put State Farm on the radar for me, and opened my eyes to the technical sophistication required to make the company operate effectively.”

Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will review three cases involving discrimination against the LGBTQ community. These cases will carry great significance for our society.

The decision will focus on whether interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

“State Farm is proud to sign a ‘friend of the court’ brief (also known as an amicus brief) in support of anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ employees. Doing so, is in furtherance of the letter and spirit of our enterprise policies and practices,” says SVP and General Counsel Steve McManus. “Moreover, it says in one collective voice, ‘We believe in a workplace free of discrimination, and we value and promote diversity, equality and inclusion.’”

As good neighbors, our long history and success story is built directly from committed, caring people helping other people. Sometimes how we help people involves supporting what we value and believe.

First, let’s rewind:

Paterson, New Jersey, located 15 miles from Manhattan has a deep industrial history. In the late 1700’s it received funding from an investment group created by Alexander Hamilton, which helped launch its manufacturing base. Shortly after, Paterson became an economic powerhouse – producing products like railroad locomotives, textile machinery, cotton and silk. By the late 1800’s, it was dubbed the “Silk City” due to its high production of the elegant fabric.

Changing times:

A century later, life in Paterson took a drastic turn. Economic changes and declines in manufacturing led to layoffs and limited opportunities. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ranked Paterson as the most economically distressed city in America.

While jobs, the economy and opportunities have changed…today, a part of Paterson remains the same. In fact, some say it’s become more beautiful over time…

The Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park

“There’s natural beauty right here in Paterson, said high school senior Jeferson Mendoza. “It gives us something to be proud of.” Mendoza is one of 19 students from the John F. Kennedy STEM Academy working to promote and preserve this national park. With the help of a $96,233.63 grant from State Farm, Jeferson and his peers have been working with the Hamilton Partnership for Paterson to create a free smartphone app encouraging people to visit the area. Known as the Mill Mile audio tour app, it guides participants through a 13-stop walking tour of the grounds. As users explore historical sites, the app shares fun facts, park trivia and includes a quiz to test their Paterson history knowledge. There’s even a virtual tour option for those who can’t visit the park in person.

“This project was all about the students,” said Hamilton Partnership for Paterson Program Director, Robin Gold. “They worked hard to make the tour more appealing to young people.” “We put in countless hours of planning meetings, researching, budgeting, writing content, and more,” added Jeferson. “Some of the work was tedious, but I learned so much. I’m confident this project will have a positive impact on Paterson, which is exciting.”

"Prior to the Mill Mile audio tour app, I had only been to the falls a handful of times. Now I visit more often and I encourage everyone to do the same,” said Jeferson. “Believe it or not, the photos don’t do it justice!”

Word of the Great Falls is spreading. In 2016, the national historical park set a record of more than 177,000 visitors.

“This area is special and the park is a soothing environment,” said Jeferson. It serves as a beacon of hope.”