Farmers Offers Coverage for FarmVille

A promotion from the P&C carrier prevents crops in the social game from withering in return for placing a branded airship on the virtual farm.

Los Angeles-based P&C carrier Farmers Insurance has partnered with San Francisco-based Zynga, the company behind the FarmVille Facebook game, for a promotion in which players can receive Farmers "protection" for their virtual crops.

Beginning October 18, the Farmers airship will be made available as a FarmVille piece. By placing the airship on their farms, players get 10 days of "wither protection" for their crops.

"More than 60 million people a month, play FarmVille, and players are proud of the virtual farms they build," Marc Zeitlin, VP of e-business for Farmers Insurance Group, says in a statement. "We are thrilled to offer virtual protection which mirrors the protection we provide to millions of people everyday with our home, automobile, business and life insurance products."

The company's goal is to show off its online presence, according to CMO Kevin Kelso. Concurrently, Farmers is running a sweepstakes campaign on Facebook, offering a ride on the real airship as a prize. The sweepstakes began October 1 and runs through November 15.

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio