As Americans Prepare for Annual Summer Road Trips, Farmers Insurance® Offers Tips to Avoid Losses

Farmers Insurance Seasonal Smarts Digest Offers Tips to Help Avoid Summer's Most Frequent Causes of Automobile Losses

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Jun 07, 2016, 11:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, June 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- New data from Farmers Insurance® shows that auto insurance claims due to wind and water-related damage tend to increase significantly during the summer and could pose a danger to Americans hitting the road for annual summer road trips.

Unfortunately, drivers may have no control over whether windy or wet driving conditions will be encountered. However, there are a number of other potential hazards that can be prevented with a few precautionary measures.

"Two hundred miles from home is not where you want to be when you have to file an insurance claim on your vehicle," said Paul Quinn, head of claims customer experience at Farmers Insurance. "It's important for drivers to be aware of the weather where they are, where they are headed and everywhere in between."

Quinn also notes that in addition to the preparing for inclement weather, there are many other steps consumers can take to help prevent a disastrous summer road trip.

The Farmers Insurance Seasonal Smarts Digest, Summer 2016 edition, provides a number of tips to help avoid damage while on the road:

Check the forecast daily and request weather alerts along the planned route.
Check tire pressure before the trip (and regularly during) and inflate tires to the recommended level.
Replace windshield wipers.
Don't overload the vehicle.
Schedule stops throughout the day and be sure to book hotel rooms in advance.
Follow other vehicles safely by observing the 3/6/9 rule. In normal conditions, account for a minimum 3 seconds between the time the car in front of you passes a fixed object and the time you pass it. Allow a minimum of 6 seconds in heavy traffic or inclement weather, and allow a minimum of 9 seconds in severe weather.
Keep windows clean and watch for chips or cracks from debris. Avoid washing a window with a crack and keep from hitting potholes and slamming doors, which can worsen a damaged window.

"Summer road trips should be an enjoyable activity and make lifelong memories," said Quinn. "However, road-trippers often overlook a number of quick and easy steps they can take before and during their trip to ensure they have a happy, safe vacation."

The complete Farmers® Seasonal Smarts Digest, detailing summer's common and uncommon hazards as well as safety and preparedness tips to help keep drivers and their cars safe, can be found online at http://www.farmers.com/news/seasonal-smarts.

About the Farmers Seasonal Smarts Digest
The Farmers Seasonal Smarts Digest is released four times per year to provide drivers and homeowners with knowledgeable, straightforward and proactive tips to help mitigate potentially dangerous and costly insurance losses. The digest examines a three-year window (2013 to 2015) of Farmers Insurance's historical claims database to identify seasonal perils and the states where they most commonly occur.

About Farmers Insurance
"Farmers Insurance®" and "Farmers®" are tradenames for a group of affiliated insurers providing insurance for automobiles, homes and small businesses and a wide range of other insurance and financial services and products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with over 19 million individual policies, across all 50 states, through the efforts of more than 48,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 21,000 employees. Farmers Insurance Exchange, the largest of the three primary insurance insurers that make up Farmers Insurance, is recognized as one of the largest U.S. companies on the 2015 Fortune 500 list. For more information about Farmers Insurance, visit Farmers.com, Twitter and Instagram, @WeAreFarmers, or Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.