Farmers Insurance® Announces New Leaders for its Business Insurance and Bristol West Units

Sharon Fernandez and Eric Kappler named to new leadership posts

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Jul 18, 2017, 11:04 ET

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., July 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmers Insurance®, one of the nation's largest insurer groups, today announced the naming of new presidents for two of its key business units. Sharon Fernandez, most recently president of Bristol West Insurance, has been appointed president of Business Insurance at Farmers®. In addition, Eric Kappler, previously head of product management at Bristol West, has been elevated to president of Bristol West.

Sharon Fernandez, president of Business Insurance at Farmers Insurance.

"I am confident Sharon and Eric will continue to advance our customer-centered, agent powered strategy in their new roles," said Jeff Dailey, chief executive officer of Farmers Group, Inc. "As we approach our 90^th anniversary next year, these appointments are further demonstration that we are well-positioned to remain leaders in the insurance industry."

Fernandez has had a distinguished 27-year career in insurance and is a proven leader at Farmers. As president of Bristol West, she has helped implement a turnaround of the auto insurance carrier which has grown to become an enterprise delivering $1 billion in gross written premium. Prior to her role with Bristol West, she leveraged her experience delivering an improved customer experience and efficiency through continuous improvement in her role as leader of service operations at Farmers. In her new position, Fernandez will report to Dailey.

Kappler joined Bristol West in 2003 as a product manager, and has been a key member of the Bristol West team throughout its 10 years as part of the Farmers enterprise. He will report to Steve Boshoven, president of Foremost Insurance.

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 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 2017 Fortune 500 list.

For more information about Farmers Insurance, visit Farmers.com, Twitter and Instagram, @WeAreFarmers, or Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

Contact:

Farmers Media Relations
818-965-0007
[email protected]

SOURCE Farmers Insurance