Farmers Insurance is 'here to stay'

The decision to send a Farmers Insurance team to Manhattan and Chapman in June to assist with claims after the cities were ravaged by tornadoes originated from the company’s newest facility in Olathe.

City and state leaders gathered Aug. 20 with Farmers employees for the ribbon cutting at the National Property Claims facility, 10551 S. Ridgeview Road.

“It’s a facility that supports our commitment to getting our customers back to where they belong,” said Dana Russell, Farmers state executive director.

In addition to the catastrophe-response team, the facility contains the inside claims division, training operations and field property headquarters for Kansas and Missouri.

Anderson said the new facility allowed the company to hire 425 employees, bringing the number of Farmers employees in Olathe to about 3,000. Including agents, Farmers is the largest private employer in the city, she said.

Vince Donofrio, vice president of Farmers HelpPoint, said the company expects to employ about 4,000 people in Olathe after opening its fourth facility at the corner of 119th Street and Renner Road in January. The company decided to locate much of its claims operation in Olathe in 2000.

Jim Daues, Farmers vice president of property claims, said the company could have built the new facility anywhere in the country.

“But we decided to put it here and for very good reason,” he said. “I’m proud to say we made the choice to move here, and I think it’s a great opportunity for us and the entire community.”

Citing the recent Forbes and Money magazine rankings that placed Olathe and the county high on lists of most desirable places to live, Congressman Dennis Moore said a lot has changed in more than 30 years since he was district attorney and drove from Mission to “this little town called Olathe.”

“The opening of this facility here is just emblematic — symbolic I guess — of the good things that are happening in this area,” Moore said.

Mayor Mike Copeland called the occasion an important milestone for Farmers and Olathe. He said it’s another celebration of the growing partnership between the two that includes not only Farmers’ investment in Olathe but also its “outstanding community spirit.”

Copeland mentioned Farmers’ visibility as a sponsor of the Free Summer Concert Series and its presence on boards of directors for the Olathe Chamber of Commerce and Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund.

Copeland joked that he wouldn’t mind seeing the rest of Farmers’ operations move to Olathe. That may not happen in the near future, but Daues said the construction of Farmers’ newest facility sent a message to the community.

“We’re excited about being here,” he said. “We think there’s plenty of room to room to grow. We’re here to stay.”