Insurer to have space to grow
New complex could house 8,000 workers
Insurer State Farm will occupy nearly all of the office space in a new Tempe lakeside complex that could lead to a tripling of the company’s Valley workforce.
State Farm, which currently employs about 2,100 people in the Phoenix metro area and 2,300 across Arizona, will have capacity for 8,000 Valley workers when the Marina Heights complex is completed in 2017.
The development eventually will have retail and office space overlooking Tempe Town Lake and Sun Devil Stadium. State Farm will lease 1.9 million square feet in the $600 million, 20-acre project featuring 2 million square feet.
State Farm is the top provider of both homeowners and auto insurance in the state, with market shares of 20.7 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively, according to the Arizona Department of Insurance. The company has been growing in both of the those areas, in life insurance, banking and in other business segments.
“State Farm is in as good of a financial position as it ever has been,” said Angela Thorpe, a company spokeswoman. “From this position of strength, we’re looking to the future.”
The company’s eventual employment in the Phoenix area will depend on future needs, she said. But State Farm plans to hire about 800 people in metro Phoenix this year; some of those positions are already filled.
The firm has held a couple of local job fairs with a third scheduled in September.
Leticia Pavan, a State Farm recruiter, said the firm is seeking to hire people with customer-service or sales experience, not necessarily from a call center, who enjoy working in a fast- paced environment. Many of the new positions will deal with claims filed by customers around the country, along with sales support and other customer-service needs.
The Phoenix metro area offers a skilled workforce and general population growth that is attractive to State Farm, Thorpe said.
The Marina Heights complex will include amenities to attract and retain workers, including nearby retail and entertainment opportunities and public-transportation links, with close proximity to a light- rail stop.
State Farm last year posted net income of $1.5 billion on premium revenue of $33.2 billion. The company finished second behind USAA among 14 auto insurers in a recent survey of customers by research firm Temkin Group.
State Farm placed seventh among 23 homeowners-insurance companies in a study by J.D. Power, with Amica scoring highest in that report.
A Tempe flooring company has agreed to pay nearly $104,000 in back wages and damages after federal investigators determined it had violated rules on overtime and record-keeping.
Flooring Demolition Specialists LLC owed 24 employees the money after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The employees were among a group that never received overtime pay even if they exceeded 40 hours per week, a violation of federal rules, the Labor Department reported. The employees also weren’t com-
Pamela Conboy, lead regional president for Wells Fargo in Phoenix, is the new chair of the Valley of the Sun United Way, replacing Derrick Hall, president and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks. His two-year term expired June 30, but he remains on the board.
The non-profit’s board also includes new members Armando Roman, founder and managing principal of AXIOM Financial Advisory Group; Mark Schiavoni, executive vice president of operations at APS; and Tom Simplot, Phoenix city councilman.
www.vsuw.org