Washington’s Berend Named FloodSmart Agent of the Year

Brian Berend, of Brian Berend Agency in Auburn, Wash., has been named FloodSmart Agent of the Year for 2010.

The FloodSmart Award recognizes an agent who has made an outstanding effort to promote the National Flood Insurance Program and raise awareness of the dangers of flooding in his or her community.

Berend has been very active in promoting flood insurance to his customers in the Green River Valley, given the recent increased flood risks surrounding the Howard Hanson Dam. In addition to using co-op advertising to place newspaper ads and sending his customers warning letters via the mail-on-demand program, he has attended town hall meetings in surrounding cities and has encouraged nearby mayors to get the word out about the importance of purchasing flood insurance. He helped organize a Disaster Preparedness Fair in Auburn, which more than 4,000 community businesses attended. He also met with many homeowners associations and school groups as well as his local Chamber of Commerce to educate homeowners and businesse s about the risk of flooding.