Sun, Oct 5, 2025

.FARMERS New gTLD Application

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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Farmers Insurance Exchange

 

Application Downloaded On: 10 Apr 2015

 

String: FARMERS

 

Application ID: 1-1801-23208

 

Applicant Information

 

  1. Full legal name

Farmers Insurance Exchange

 

  1. Address of the principal place of business

4680 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, California - 90010 US

 

  1. Phone number

+1 323 930 4948

 

  1. Fax number

+1 323 932 7514

 

  1. If applicable, website or URL

http://www.farmers.com

 

Primary Contact

 

6(a). Name

Christopher Niemi

 

6(b). Title

Domain Operations Supervisor, MarkMonitor Inc.

 

6(c). Address

 

6(d). Phone Number

+1 208 685 1857

 

6(e). Fax Number

+1 208 389 5771

 

6(f). Email Address

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Secondary Contact

 

7(a). Name

Do Kim

 

7(b). Title

Senior Product Marketing Manager

 

7(c). Address

 

7(d). Phone Number

+1 323-762-0611

 

7(e). Fax Number

 

7(f). Email Address

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Proof of Legal Establishment

 

8(a). Legal form of the Applicant

The Applicant is an interinsurance exchange or reciprocal established pursuant to California Insurance Code Section 1300, et. seq.

 

8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).

California, USA

 

8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.

Attachments are not displayed on this form.

 

9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.

 

9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.

 

9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.

 

Applicant Background

 

11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors

Name

Position

Dale A. Marlin Governor

David W. Louie Governor

Dennis J. Lorch Governor

Donald E. Rodriguez Governor

Donnell Reid Governor

Frederick H. Kruse Governor

Gary R. Martin Governor

John T. Wuo Governor

  1. Joel Wallace Governor

Richard K. Ma Governor

Ronald A. Marrone Governor

Stanley R. Smith Governor

 

11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners

Name

Position

Bryan F. Murphy Chief Claims Officer

Doren E. Hohl Secretary

Jeffrey J. Dailey Chief Executive Officer, Farmers Group, Inc., Attorney-in-Fact

Ronald G. Myhan Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer

 

11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares

 

11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility

 

Applied-for gTLD string

 

  1. Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.

FARMERS

 

14A. If applying for an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").

 

 

14B. If an IDN, provide the meaning, or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.

 

 

14C1. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).

 

 

14C2. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).

 

 

14D1. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).

 

 

14D2. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).

 

 

14E. If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.

 

 

15A. If an IDN, upload IDN tables for the proposed registry.  An IDN table must include:

the applied-for gTLD string relevant to the tables,

the script or language designator (as defined in BCP 47),

table version number,

effective date (DD Month YYYY), and

contact name, email address, and phone number.

Submission of IDN tables in a standards-based format is encouraged.

 

 

15B. Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.

 

 

15C. List any variants to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.

 

 

  1. Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.

 

The Applicant has consulted with various experts in the field of domain names, including its selected back-end registry operator, who is currently managing various TLDs, including but not limited to .BIZ, .TEL, and recently .CO. Furthermore, the extension .farmers is a string that entirely consists of standard US ASCII characters, as is the case with most extensions currently available in the DNS.

 

Therefore, to the Applicant’s best knowledge and belief, no specific issues are to be expected regarding the operation and rendering of the .farmers gTLD.

 

  1. OPTIONAL.

Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).

 

 

18A. Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.

 

The Applicant is an inter-insurance exchange owned by its policyholders and organized under the laws of the State of California.  The Applicant is an insurer within the Farmers Insurance Group, a group that includes two other exchanges, and other subsidiaries and affiliates of all three exchanges.  The Applicant, directly or through its subsidiaries, offers automobile, homeowners, personal umbrella, and business owners insurance throughout the United States.  In particular, Applicant is licensed as an insurer and operates as an insurer in the following states: AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, and WY.

 

The Applicant owns the FARMERS brand.  FARMERS is one of the largest and most respected insurance brands in the United States.  Indeed, the insurers comprising the Farmers Insurance Group, operating under the FARMERS brand, have been leaders  in the insurance industry for over 80 years.

 

Applicant has invested significant resources to develop and protect its FARMERS brand and to achieve brand recognition.  For example, Applicant, through its attorney-in-fact, Farmers Group, Inc., owns various trademarks in the United States and various domain names related to the FARMERS brand.    

 

Applicant, through its attorney-in-fact, owns the distinctive and famous FARMERS trademark and variations thereof incorporating “FARMERS” (the “FARMERS Marks”).  Applicant, through its attorney-in-fact, has common law rights and also U.S. federal registrations for the FARMERS Marks.  

 

Applicant, through its attorney-in-fact, owns the following U.S. federal registrations for the FARMERS Marks, including FARMERS INSURANCE GROUP (Reg. No. 1,821,673); FARMERS (Reg. No. 1,899,192); FARMERS INSURANCE GROUP SYMBOL OF SUPERIOR SERVICE & Design  (Reg. No. 953,862); FARMERS FLEXIBLE UNIVERSAL LIFE (Reg. No. 1,657,608); FARMERS ANNUITY PLUS (Reg. No. 1,659,107); FARMERS INSURANCE GROUP OF COMPANIES (Reg. No. 1,821,672); FARMERS FRIENDLY REVIEW (Reg. No. 1,834,032); AMERICA CAN DEPEND ON FARMERS (Reg. No. 1,837,037); FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE (Reg. No. 1,920,139); FARMERS NEW WORLD LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (Reg. No. 1,966,130); FARMERS EASYPAY (Reg. No. 2,228,194); FARMERS. GETS YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG (Reg. No. 2,345,790); FARMERS EASYPAY DIRECT (Reg. No. 2,532,525); FARMERS FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS (Reg. No. 2,582,990); FARMERS FASTQUOTE (Reg. No. 2,665,732); FARMERS FINANCIAL SERVICES (Reg. No. 2,723,435); UNIVERSITY OF FARMERS (Reg. No. 2,994,359); FARMERS CIRCLE OF DEPENDABILITY (Reg. No. 3,044,980); IFARMERS (Reg. No. 4,016,753); FARMERS NEXT GENERATION (Reg. No. 3,337,085); FARMERS. FOR YOU. (Reg No. 3,499,990); FARMERS LIFE (Reg. No. 3,558,501); FARMERS FLEX (Reg. No. 3,627,616); FARMERS VALUE INSURANCE PACKAGE (Reg. No. 3,686,546); FARMERS VIP (Reg No. 3,502,466; FARMERS BUSINESS INSURANCE EXPRESS (Reg. No. 3,505,986); FARMERS ESSENTIAL LIFE (Reg. No. 3,389,557); FARMERS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (Reg. No. 3,627,476); and FARMERS SERVICEPOINT (Reg. No. 3,358,260).

 

Applicant markets its products and services under the FARMERS Marks and the FARMERS brand.  Applicant has continuously used the FARMERS Marks and FARMERS name in commerce in the United States.  Applicant prominently uses and promotes the FARMERS Marks in advertising, sales, and in various other ways.  Applicant’s sales and advertising expenses under the FARMERS Marks have been extensive and in the tens of millions of dollars annually.  The FARMERS Marks are highly regarded, well-known and widely recognized by consumers, and serve to identify and indicate the source of Applicant’s products and services to the consuming public, as well as to distinguish their products and services from the products and services of others.  As a result of Applicant’s longstanding and extensive use and promotion of the FARMERS Marks, these marks represent considerable goodwill and value to Applicant.

 

Applicant, through its attorney-in-fact, also owns various domain names related to the FARMERS brand.  For example, Applicant, through its attorney-in-fact, has owned Farmers.com since 1996 and FarmersAgent.com since 2000.  Applicant actively uses farmers.com to provide insurance products and services and information to its policyholders.  Applicant actively uses FarmersAgent.com for electronic communications related to its provision of insurance products and services.  

 

The Applicant, through its attorney-in-fact, has registered domains for many of its trademarks and also has registered domains separate from its trademarks.  The Applicant’s trademark portfolio and domain name portfolio demonstrate the Applicant’s significant and continued investment while protecting its brand and achieving brand recognition both online and offline.  Applicant is also present online on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Against this background, the mission and purpose of the applied-for gTLD includes:

 

  1. securing and protecting the Applicant’s brand as a gTLD;

 

  1. reflecting and operating the Applicant’s brand at the top level of the DNS’ hierarchy;

 

  1. providing stakeholders of the Applicant (e.g. policyholders; exclusive and independent agents; employees of Applicant and its affiliates; wholly-owned direct and indirect subsidiaries; business groups) with a recognizable and trusted identifier on the Internet; and

 

  1. providing such stakeholders with a secure and safe Internet environment, mainly or even fully under the control of the Applicant, which increases brand awareness and stakeholder trust, both of which are important within the insurance industry.

 

18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

 

Applicant expects the applied-for gTLD will benefit registrants, users, and others by providing them with a new, secure, and innovative space to access Applicant’s products and services and communicate with Applicant.

 

  1. The goals of the applied-for gTLD are related to Applicant’s FARMERS brand.  In this regard, Applicant, with its applied-for gTLD, strives to enhance its insurance products and services and its reputation in the insurance industry, and provide even more specialized insurance services to its customers.  The applied-for gTLD aims to protect, develop, and maintain the reputation of the Applicant’s FARMERS brand in the insurance industry.

 

  1. The Applicant expects the applied-for gTLD will add a differentiated space on the Internet related to its FARMERS brand.  From the Applicant’s perspective, the applied-for gTLD will bring a high degree of recognition and specialization to the currently existing name space.  Where in most cases the specific connotation that has been initially given to gTLDs (or even ccTLDs) has disappeared, the applied-for top-level domain is currently intended to be unambiguous regarding: the identity of the Registry Operator; the source of the content and services offered under the applied-for gTLD; the affiliation between the Registry Operator and the gTLD; and the affiliation between the Registry Operator and any third party that is authorized by the Applicant, at its discretion, to register and⁄or use one or more domain names in the applied-for gTLD.

 

  1. The following goals of the applied-for gTLD are related to improved user experience:

 

  1. Securing and protecting the Applicant’s brand as a gTLD.  The Applicant seeks to protect its brand from third parties, who may wish to trade on the good name of the Applicant’s brand by securing the applied-for gTLD.  The Applicant also seeks to avoid any confusion that may result from another entity holding the applied-for gTLD.  This is particularly beneficial for users.  Securing the applied-for gTLD is a logical extension of the Applicant’s continued investment in protecting and promoting its brand both offline and online.
  2. Reflecting and operating the Applicant’s brand at the top-level of the DNS’ hierarchy.  The ease with which users will be able to locate the Applicant’s brand at the top-level of the DNS’ hierarchy is also beneficial to users.
  3. Trust, safety and security for users.  The gTLD and most if not all of the domain names registered therein will be completely or at least partially under the control of the Registry Operator.

 

  1. The Applicant intends to implement restrictive registration policies in support of the mission and purpose of the applied-for gTLD.  In particular, the Applicant intends to implement the following policies and procedures with respect to the registration of domain names in the applied-for top-level domain:

 

  1. Reservation and registration of domain names in the name of the Applicant, with the option to sell, distribute, or transfer control or use of any registrations in the applied-for TLD to Applicant’s subsidiaries and⁄or affiliates.   It is likely that this will be the scenario that the Applicant will put in place during the first months or even years of operation of the applied-for gTLD.  The names may include, but are not limited to:
  2. a) descriptive names, referring to the actual day-to-day business activities of the Applicant and⁄or its subsidiaries and affiliates;
  3. b) descriptive names, referring to the internal departments of the Applicant;
  4. c) descriptive names, referring to the subsidiaries and⁄or affiliates of the Applicant; and
  5. d) product and service brands promoted by the Applicant and⁄or its subsidiaries and affiliates now and in the future.

 

  1. Launch of the gTLD.  If and when implemented by the Registry Operator (i.e. the Applicant), this is likely going to be a gradual process, whereby selected third parties that meet certain criteria, which the Applicant will be entitled to set at its own discretion, may register domain names in the gTLD.  These processes may include the following.  
  2. a) Sunrise: allow physical persons, organizations and entities that meet the eligibility requirements in force at that point in time to choose the domain names that are identical to their trademarks.
  3. b) Land rush and general availability: other available domain names may be registered by physical persons, organizations and entities that meet the eligibility requirements in force at that point in time to choose the domain names in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions.
  4. c) Depending on the terms and conditions in force at the time of launch of the gTLD, these domain names may or may not be registered in the name of the applicant for the domain name or in the name of the Registry Operator of the gTLD (i.e., the Applicant). In any case, the Applicant reserves the right to impose additional and other restrictions from time to time at its sole discretion.

 

  1. The Applicant will implement any necessary and applicable measures for protecting the privacy and confidential information of registrants and users.  Due to the nature of the applied-for gTLD there will likely be limited, if any, personal data to protect in the applied-for gTLD.  In any event, given the fact that the Applicant is an inter-insurance exchange that is licensed as an insurer and operates as an insurer in various states in the United States, it is subject to both federal and state, privacy and data protection laws, rules and⁄or practices.  The Applicant will at all times be obliged to carefully consider and, where applicable, implement privacy, data protection and confidentiality measures during operation of the applied-for gTLD.

 

  1. The Applicant has considered various ways to implement outreach and communications to achieve projected benefits.  While at this stage the Applicant has not developed exact plans in order to establish online activities in the applied-for gTLD or move online activities from one or more of its active domain names to the applied-for gTLD, the Applicant will implement different initiatives to make stakeholders aware of the development of the new online environment under the applied-for gTLD, including but not limited to:

 

  1. advertisements in newspapers and magazines;
  2. Internet advertising campaigns;
  3. resolving Internet traffic from one or more of the Applicant’s active domain names into domain names registered in the applied-for gTLD; and
  4. email marketing campaigns.

 

18C. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?

 

  1. Given the nature of the applied-for gTLD and its mission and purpose, Applicant considers it unlikely that there will be multiple applications for a particular domain name in the applied-for gTLD.  

 

In line with the Applicant’s mission and purpose for the applied-for gTLD, it is important for the Applicant to safeguard and protect its brand at the top level of the DNS’ hierarchy. Such protection does not only extend to the actual registration, delegation and use of the gTLD, but also to the domain names that are registered therein, and how these domain names are used.

 

Following the delegation of the applied-for gTLD, the gTLD is likely going to be a so-called “single registrant TLD” as contemplated by ICANN in Article 4.5 of the template Registry Operator Agreement.  While the Applicant has not fully determined the exact types of domain names to be registered and the exact use of such domain names, the Applicant nonetheless initially contemplates a single registrant TLD.  For the avoidance of doubt, a “single registrant TLD” is a TLD where “(i) all domain name registrations in the TLD are registered to, and maintained by, Registry Operator for its own exclusive use, and (ii) Registry Operator does not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any registrations in the TLD to any third party that is not an Affiliate of Registry Operator.” The term “Affiliate” has been defined in Article 2.9 (c) of the draft Registry Operator Agreement as follows:“a person or entity that, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person or entity specified.”

 

As a result, it is unlikely that there will be multiple applications for a particular domain name.  There will also likely be no social costs for third parties, given the fact that they will be unable to register domain names in the applied-for gTLD in any event.

 

Over time, if the Applicant determines, at its sole discretion, that it will allow certain categories of additional stakeholders to register domain names in the applied-for gTLD, the Applicant will devise policies to that effect.  The Applicant reserves the right to subject the registration or use of a domain name to internal approval processes and procedures at each and every step of the domain name life cycle.

 

If the Applicant allows certain categories of stakeholders to register domain names in the applied-for gTLD, it will release available domain names in a highly controlled manner.  This also reduces the likelihood that two or more applicants qualify for the registration of the same domain name in the applied-for gTLD.

 

As a method of last resort, and subject to the actual domain name registration policy adopted by the Registry Operator and in force at the time of registration, domain names will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

In any event, the Applicant reserves the right to change or restrict any policies, procedures and practices at any point if it is of the opinion that there would be a risk of damage to the reputation of the Applicant’s brand.

 

  1. The Applicant ⁄ Registry Operator intends to implement cost benefits for registrations by, at the outset, making the applied-for gTLD available to qualifying domain name registrants at no cost to them. However, if necessary as the gTLD develops over time, the Applicant ⁄ Registry Operator may, at its discretion, charge a fee to its stakeholders for the registration of domain names under the applied-for gTLD.

 

  1. The Applicant ⁄ Registry Operator may, at its discretion, make contractual commitments to implement, increase, or decrease the fees for the registration of domain names under the applied-for gTLD.