FAMILY VALUES NEPOTISM BRINGS TRUST, STABILITY TO FARMERS INSURANCE.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

Farmers Insurance has an affinity for hiring family members - a practice the company isn't skittish about admitting after 75 years of business.

In an economy riddled with instability, the Los Angeles-based insurer seeks strength in the very people that work for the company. That's because many of those employees bring the bedrock foundation of family life to the workplace.

Several generations of Farmers families pass each other in the halls of the company's 66-year-old art deco headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard or its large regional claims center in Simi Valley on a daily basis. Brothers and sisters, moms and dads, grandmothers and grandchildren - they are all working for Farmers.

``Since family members can usually be trusted better than anyone else, I suppose the company isn't too concerned about nepotism,'' said David Russell, assistant professor of finance and insurance at California State University, Northridge.

The Lacuesta family is a prime example of the myriad personalities a genetic link can generate at work.

Siblings Emmi, Edgar, Vange and Eleanor, and Eleanor's husband, Art Rodriguez, all work for the insurer. Not only do they all work together at Farmers, most of them live in the same San Gabriel housing complex.

They also eat lunch together, carpool together and enjoy family outings together. ``We do get along, you know,'' said Edgar, snickering to his sisters and brother-in-law.

Most of the Lacuestas have worked at Farmers for more than 15 years, all in different departments. The matriarch of this Farmers family is Andrea Lacuesta, 63. She brought all of her children to work at some point in their youth, projecting the Farmers way as a senior loan officer.

``I can still remember when I was a little boy coming to Farmers and playing ball with the same security guard that works here today,'' said Edgar, 39, who is now a technology support analyst for the company.

Meanwhile, Eleanor and Art still wax nostalgic about the first time they met at Farmers, which eventually resulted in marriage.

``We had a coffee break together,'' Eleanor said. ``And now we're married.''

``Yeah, I guess it all worked out for us pretty well. And I've been able to advance my career and along the way meet my wife. So I'd say it has been a fine place to work,'' said Art, a forms specialist.

The Lacuestas are merely one example of the myriad relationships that exist at Farmers. They crop up in many, if not most, of the company's departments.

Stephanie and Darrell Payne met each other at Farmers. The two were working in different departments, but just so happened to meet up and become good friends.

``Who would have thought working here would have led to meeting your spouse? And now Stephanie and I have two kids and we've been at Farmers for close to two decades,'' Payne said.

Executives at the insurance company are not shy about their proclivity to hire family members. Jeffrey Beyer, Farmers' chief communications officer, said he thinks the more family members working for the company the stronger the culture.

``It helps make people feel energized about the corporation,'' he said. ``I don't think that anyone would argue against that.''

Lynne McClure would.

As the founder of a consultancy group that specializes in workplace relationships, McClure sees a number of potential hazards.

``For example, if you are a manager or supervisor whose relatives work at higher levels in the organization, you might not be able to be as honest about your employees' work,'' said McClure, who holds a doctorate in business. ``There are also issues with promotions and whether or not other employees will perceive someone's advancement as being fair.''

But Bayer said Farmers avoids placing family members in the same departments to avoid such situations.

Jan Franklin and Sherri Mattiucci are sisters who have worked at Farmers in different departments for more than 20 years.

Their mother, Vivian, worked for the company as a keypunch operator in Santa Ana. The two remember Christmas and New Year's always being filled with Farmers festivities. And now, Franklin is the company's chief information officer and Mattiucci is a network engineer.

``There is a strong family ethic here. And we've used those family links to our advantage,'' Franklin said. ``In the end, I think the family connection keeps us here.''

Evan Pondel, [phone]

evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com

CHRONOLOGY

1928

The Farmers Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange opens for business in Los Angeles.

1933

Los Angeles is rocked by magnitude 6.4 Long Beach Earthquake and Farmers begins offering comprehensive coverage for quake damage to cars.

1942

The company begins offering homeowners insurance just prior to the post-war housing boom.

1958

Acquires New World Life Insurance Co.

1972

Becomes the first to offer a nonsmokers discount for home and auto policies.

1988

Acquired by FGI, a subsidiary of British conglomerate B.A.T. Industries Plc.

1994

Northridge Earthquake hits Farmers, forcing the insurer to pay out more than $2.2 billion in claims.

2003

Farmers turns 75.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Family members, from left, Emmi Lacuesta, Art Rodriguez, Eleanor Rodriguez, Edgar Lacuesta and Vange Lacuesta work at the headquarters of Farmers Insurance. The company, celebrating its 75th anniversary, is big on family hiring.

(2 -- color) Darrell Payne is a computer graphics specialist and his wife, Stephanie, is an administrative assistant at Farmers Insurance, where hiring family members is encouraged.

(3) Melissa Gonzalez and her aunt, Helen Leverton, both work at Farmers Insurance, a company proud of its family ethic.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

Box:

CHRONOLOGY (see text)