Fireman's Fund Insurance Company has introduced Katrina Recovery Services for its New Orleans customers and agents needing trauma counseling, identity theft prevention and restoration and personalized assistance in coping with the practical, emotional and psychological effects of the hurricane. The services are free to current customers and Fireman's Fund agents in the parishes evacuated by civil from authority.
Beginning Monday, September 23, policyholders and agents may call the companies toll free claims number (888-FIREHAT or 800-486-6380) and select Katrina Recovery Services. The caller will then be connected with counselors at the following companies commissioned by Fireman's Fund:
- NEAS, a nationally recognized provider of mental health counseling and trauma assistance, including a network of 7,900 trained psychological counselors.
- CyberScout, which provides a single point of assistance to help victims of identity theft deal with credit and financial institutions, and obtain documentation for identity verification and reclamation. Identity theft is expected to become a major problem in the New Orleans area following the loss of private paperwork out of homes, and the Louisiana Department of Justice has already received complaints of identity fraud associated with Katrina. This service will assist with the protection of financial, credit, employment and personal information including fraud-alert tools. In the event disaster victims should experience identity theft, one-on-one full resolution services will be provided.
- World Access, an international leader in emergency medical assistance, travel and concierge services.
"Katrina's victims have endured an unprecedented natural catastrophe, and may face even greater personal trials in the months ahead," said Chuck Kavitsky, CEO of Fireman's Fund. "Although insurance is designed to protect a customer's physical property, we recognized a need to help customers and agents cope with the shock and stresses of lost friends and relatives, physical displacement, identity theft and other traumatic events."
"This suite of services responds to a wide cross-section of critical needs," said Bob Courtemanche, president of personal insurance for Fireman's Fund. "Some of these services had previously been part of our upscale insurance policies, but we are now providing these gratis to our New Orleans customers and agents until the crisis has passed. We hope this service can ease customers' burdens and yield a sense of personal affirmation during these difficult days."
In other services to customers, Fireman's Fund conducted a multimedia outreach campaign throughout the Gulf Coast immediately after the disaster to locate customers displaced from their homes because of civil authority orders. The messages, in print and radio ads, included an 800-number for customers who might need funds for living expenses and lodging. The company also configured its home page web site to allow initial storm claims to be filed on line. On September 2, the company voluntarily declared a moratorium preventing the cancellation or non-renewal of any customers' policies in the hurricane-affected areas. This moratorium gave customers time to recover from the catastrophe without worrying about paying for their policy renewals.
About the services from NEAS:
Fireman's Fund has long offered NEAS counseling to employees as a work/life benefit, in cases where employees face major life challenges. The psychological counseling offers constructive empathy in dealing with the wide range of emotional reactions following a disaster of this magnitude. NEAS offers advocacy, assistance and guidance in accessing emergency services and other resources based on a customer's needs. Additionally, NEAS counselors will work with customers to provide updated resources and contacts for FEMA, the Red Cross and other disaster relief resources and agencies, including connecting customers with appropriate services that may assist in locating a displaced family member.
NEAS is a private, for-profit corporation offering counseling and work/life services in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico in addition to overseas locations. For more information about NEAS, visit www.neas.com.
About the services from CyberScout
The Federal Trade Commission estimates that victims spend an average of 60 hours resolving identity fraud. CyberScout can relieve the victim of this task by notifying relevant governmental agencies, contacting law enforcement; restoring credit files and DMV records, and monitoring ongoing credit and issue fraud alerts.
The CyberScout Identity Disaster Response will provide a single point of assistance to help Katrina disaster victims deal with fraud by verifying identity, replacing lost documents, re-establishing credit and personal information, and reducing the risk of repetition of the fraud.
CyberScout provides enterprise-level fraud solutions at Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, large insurers, and corporate benefits providers. Identity Theft serves over 2.8 million households. The On-line Banking Report named CyberScout as one of "the 10 most significant innovations and developments of 2003," including CyberScout on its list of "10 industry developments that provide the best glimpse at the future of on-line financial services delivery." For more information, visit www.identitytheft911.com.
About the services of World Access
World Access provides guidance in locating appropriate medical attention, prescription drug replacement and assistance with transportation and lodging to include hotel accommodations and home, apartment and condominium rental research. Additionally, this service will provide assistance in locating schools and job search information.
Travel and logistics-related services are provided by World Access, a subsidiary of Mondial, a recognized international leader in travel assistance and a member of the global Allianz Group. World Access regularly coordinates emergency medical transportation and communication of critical travel-related information worldwide. In 2004, Mondial fielded more than 11.6 million calls from policyholders in 29 countries. For more information, visit www.worldaccess.com.
