Sponsorship supports student innovation while advancing broader conversations around wildfire preparedness, mitigation, recovery and community resilience

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Farmers Insurance^® today announced its support of DiscoverE’s 2026–2027 Future City Competition^® as National Theme Sponsor for “Fire Resilient Future,” a nationwide STEM challenge that invites middle and high school students to imagine, design and build future cities that can help prevent, withstand and recover from urban wildfire risk. 

The sponsorship reflects Farmers’ broader focus on helping people and communities understand evolving risks, take steps to reduce potential damage and plan for recovery when disasters occur.

A real-world STEM challenge focused on wildfire resilience

As wildfire threats continue to affect communities across the country, the Future City Competition gives students the opportunity to apply engineering, creativity and problem-solving to one of today’s most urgent resilience challenges.

Through the sponsorship, Farmers will help broaden the conversation around what it takes to build fire-resilient communities — connecting engineering and infrastructure with risk awareness, preparedness, mitigation, financial protection and recovery planning.

Farmers brings a broader view of resilience

As an insurer, Farmers sees firsthand how preparedness, mitigation and financial recovery planning can help individuals, businesses and communities navigate the impacts of severe weather and natural disasters.

“Helping communities prepare for wildfire risk is a shared responsibility, and it starts with understanding both the physical and financial factors that help communities become more resilient,” said Behram Dinshaw, President of Personal Lines at Farmers. “Through our support of DiscoverE and the Future City Competition, Farmers is proud to help students – our future leaders – think more broadly about resilience — from how future cities are designed to how families, businesses and communities can recover when disaster strikes.”

The 2026–2027 Future City Competition theme challenges students to design resilient urban environments that can address wildfire risk, including communities near the wildland-urban interface, where neighborhoods and natural areas meet. Student teams will research, design and present future city concepts that reflect how STEM can be used to help solve real-world problems facing communities today.

Competition season begins this fall

Student teams will begin developing their Future City designs in September for the 2026–2027 competition season, with regional competitions taking place in 40 regions and national finalists advancing to the Future City Finals in Washington, D.C. in February 2027. Farmers employees and Farmers agents will be invited to support the program through mentoring, judging, and program leader support, bringing practical perspectives on preparedness, risk mitigation and recovery planning to students as they develop their fire-resilient city concepts.

“Future City empowers students to see themselves as problem-solvers and future engineers,” said Kathy Renzetti, Executive Director at DiscoverE. “With the ‘Fire Resilient Future’ theme, students are not only learning about engineering — they are exploring how thoughtful design can help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from wildfire challenges.”

Helping students consider the full resilience journey

As part of the sponsorship, Farmers plans to support student learning through educational resources that introduce foundational insurance and financial protection concepts as part of the broader resilience journey. The resources are intended to help students consider how communities can reduce wildfire risk before disaster strikes, plan for safe response during an event and support recovery afterward — including the role rebuilding costs, financial preparedness and insurance can play in helping families and businesses move forward.

Insurers can also play an important role in disaster recovery by helping customers access financial support after covered losses, supporting families and businesses to begin repairing, rebuilding and moving forward. While public-sector response and recovery efforts remain critical, insurance can be one part of a broader recovery network that helps communities regain stability after disaster.

Employees and Farmers agents can help bring resilience to life

Insurance is one part of the broader resilience equation. While strong infrastructure, fire-safe building materials, emergency planning and thoughtful land use can help reduce wildfire damage, financial preparedness can also play an important role in helping people, homes and businesses recover after a disaster. By introducing students to these concepts, the sponsorship encourages Future City teams to design communities that are not only built to withstand wildfire risk, but also prepared to rebuild.

Farmers employees and Farmers agents will also have opportunities to support the competition through mentoring, judging and local event participation, helping students connect their city designs to real-world considerations such as preparedness, risk reduction, property protection and recovery planning.

Inspiring the next generation of problem-solvers

“Planning for the future means empowering the next generation to help design it,” said Dinshaw. “These students may one day help create the safer, stronger and more resilient communities we all depend on.”

The Future City Competition engages students in a multi-month learning experience that includes research, city design, model-building and presentations before panels of STEM professionals. The “Fire Resilient Future” theme was announced by DiscoverE in May 2026, with registration open for the 2026–2027 competition season.

Together, Farmers and DiscoverE aim to help students see wildfire resilience not only as an engineering challenge, but as a community challenge — one that requires thoughtful planning, practical risk reduction and a clear path to recovery.

About Farmers Insurance

“Farmers Insurance^®” and “Farmers^®” are tradenames for a group of insurers providing insurance for automobiles, homes, small businesses and a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance Exchange, the largest of the three primary insurers that make up Farmers Insurance, is recognized as one of the largest U.S. companies on the 2026 Fortune 500 list. For more information about Farmers Insurance, visit Farmers.com.

About DiscoverE

DiscoverE is a nonprofit organization committed to inspiring and empowering the next generation of engineers through free and low-cost global STEM programs. DiscoverE’s initiatives include Engineers Week™, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day™, Chats with Change Makers, and the Future City^® Competition. These programs emphasize problem-solving, creativity, and the critical role of engineering in building a better future. For more information, visit discovere.org.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/farmers-insurance-encourages-students-to-imagine-a-fire-resilient-future-through-discoveres-future-city-competition-302848011.html

SOURCE Farmers Insurance