Zurich dispatches claims professionals to California to assist wildfire victims; Zurich offers tips for dealing with aftermath

Dateline: 23/10/2007

Schaumburg, Ill., October 23, 2007 – Zurich, one of the world’s largest property-casualty insurance companies, announced today that insurance professionals were in place or on the way to California to assist customers in processing claims for losses suffered in the Los Angeles- and San Diego-area wildfires.

Mike Hargrave, Zurich’s property claims national catastrophe manager, said the goal is to have additional Zurich team members on the ground as soon as possible to help customers efficiently process their claims.

“We want to ensure that we make the experience of submitting a claim a smooth one for our customers,” Hargrave said. “We have claims specialists staffing the toll-free reporting hotline in our Customer Care Center to expeditiously process these claims.”

Hargrave said customers have five channels to report a claim:

Internet – Go to the main page of www.zurichna.com and click the “Claims” tab at the top of the page
Phone – Contact Zurich’s Customer Care Center at 800-987-3373 or 847-240-8020
Fax – 877-962-2567 to send all important documentation
E-mail – Contact Zurich’s Customer Care Center at USZ_CareCenter@Zurichna.com
U.S. Mail – Zurich Customer Care Center, P.O. Box 49547, Colorado Springs, CO 80949-9537

Hargrave also gave the following tips to help in filing claims:

Report the claim immediately – don’t delay
Collect as much information as possible regarding the loss, such as date and time, policy number(s), name and address of company or reporting location, incident description and estimated damages
Submit all estimates, photos and any materials / receipts

Hargrave said after a claim is filed, customers can use the 10-digit claim number they will receive to inquire about the status of the claim by following these procedures:

Call 800-987-3373 or 847-240-8020
Select “Option Two” to check on an existing claim
Then select “Option One” and enter the 10-digit claim number to be connected with the Zurich claims professional handling your claim

About Zurich Financial Services

Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) is an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 58,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries. In North America, Zurich (www.zurichna.com) is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, small business, specialties and programs sectors.

Media contact:

Steve McKay, Zurich
847-706-2265
steven.mckay@zurichna.com

Tips for dealing with the aftermath of the California wildfires

Cat Claim Process overview

Tips for mitigating your damages

Tips for worker safety during the cleanup process

Keeping track of your claim contacts

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