Claims News Service, April 26, 11:22 a.m. EST- Travelers recently announced the opening of their new 108,000 square ft. primary training facility, Claim University, located in Windsor, Connecticut. The structure is designed to educate Travelers' claim professionals and provide comprehensive training and expertise to produce knowledgeable and efficient service.

According to Travelers, approximately 8,500 front-line employees will attend the university each year for hands-on training in auto, property, heavy equipment, or liability claim appraisal. Another 8,500 or more will be trained each year through virtual learning and distance learning.

A release by Travelers stated that Claim University houses the industry's first heavy-equipment lab featuring cranes, backhoes, bulldozers, and other heavy-duty vehicles. It is also the first insurance training facility to receive the Chief Automotive Fuzion Vehicle Repair and Sectioning System as part of the auto appraisal lab. These features will help teach auto appraisers how to properly read vehicle diagnostics and measure for damage, and how to evaluate structural repairs on vehicles.

The facility also contains a property lab, two full-scale furnished homes, and a full-size convenience store complete with all mechanical systems (electric, plumbing, heating/air conditioning). It includes eight classrooms to accommodate nearly 300 students; a 400-seat auditorium; virtual training rooms; distance learning capabilities via Travelers' Intranet; study rooms; media center and reference library; in-house workshop to build and refurbish training displays; and numerous smaller-scale mock-up demonstrations to support material identification, damage reparability, and installation procedures.

Travelers Claim University enrolled its first class of adjusters March 12. More information is available at www.travelers.com.

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