Dateline: 30/10/2007
Schaumburg, IL, October 30, 2007 – Zurich, one of the world’s largest property-casualty insurance companies, today announced its Zurich U.S. Foundation is donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross to assist Southern California wildfire victims.
"As a company, it is our responsibility to be there in times of need to help customers resume their lives and restore their businesses," said Axel P. Lehmann, CEO of Zurich North America Commercial. "This donation is another example of Zurich's interest in helping the victims of the Southern California fires recover as soon as possible from this terrible event."
"We are thankful to the entire Zurich family for this generous donation, which allows the Red Cross to provide help and hope to our neighbors affected by these devastating wildfires," said Kathleen Loehr, interim senior vice president of Development for the American Red Cross. “Zurich’s support of our humanitarian mission enables us to provide food, shelter and other assistance to people when they need it most. We thank them for their support.”
Lehmann said that the decision regarding which organization would receive this donation was made, in part, because the American Red Cross is one of the organizations that receives support from Zurich employees during the company's "Time for Giving" annual fund raising campaign.
"Our employees have supported the American Red Cross through their personal donations for some time and the Zurich U.S. Foundation, through annual contributions and with this special donation, recognizes the variety of good work the Red Cross does across the country to help people in times of dire need," Lehmann said.
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