Finance · Profile from Finance Research Companion
State Farm
The largest property and casualty insurer in the United States, owned by its policyholders rather than shareholders. George J. Mecherle, a retired farmer turned insurance salesman, founded it in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1922 to sell cheap car insurance to farmers. It grew on one idea: a nationwide network of exclusive agents, each a small business owner who sells only State Farm, backed by a mutual company that can take a long view because it has no stock price to defend. By 2025 it served nearly 97 million policies and accounts through more than 19,200 agent offices, earned ~$111.6bn of P&C premium and held a net worth of ~$170bn. It holds roughly 18–19% of the US auto and homeowners markets. Size has not protected it from the two great personal-lines shocks of the 2020s: record auto underwriting losses in 2022–23 as repair and injury costs surged, and a homeowners crisis in California, where it stopped writing new policies in 2023, was hit by the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, won an emergency rate rise and then faced a state enforcement action over how it handled the fire claims.
At a glance
- Founded
- June 1922, Bloomington, Illinois, as State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (company history gives June 7 or 8, 1922)
- Founder
- George J. "G.J." Mecherle (1877–1951), a former farmer and insurance salesman; led the company 1922–37 and then as chairman
- Headquarters
- Bloomington, Illinois; large operations hubs in Richardson (Dallas), Tempe (Phoenix) and Dunwoody (Atlanta)
- Ownership / structure
- Mutual: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is owned by its auto policyholders and is the parent of State Farm Fire and Casualty, State Farm General (California), State Farm Lloyds (Texas), State Farm Florida, State Farm Life and other affiliates. No public shares
- Leadership (2026)
- Jon Farney, CEO since June 1, 2024 (also president); Michael Tipsord, chairman (CEO 2015–24) (company)
- Products
- Personal auto (63% of P&C net written premium in 2025), homeowners, renters, condo, small-business and other property lines (36%), life insurance and annuities, health supplemental products, mutual funds and investment services; banking products offered through U.S. Bank since 2020
- Scale (2025)
- P&C earned premium ~$111.6bn; total revenue ~$132.3bn; nearly 97 million policies and accounts; >19,200 agent offices; >62,000 employees (company, February 26, 2026)
- Profit (2025)
- Net income ~$12.9bn (2024: ~$5.3bn), including ~$2.0bn of after-tax realized gains; combined P&C underwriting gain ~$1.5bn (2024: ~$6.1bn loss); auto gain ~$4.6bn, homeowners and other lines loss ~$3.1bn (company)
- Capital
- State Farm Mutual net worth ~$170.0bn at year-end 2025 (~$145.2bn in 2024), among the largest surpluses of any insurer in the world (company)
- Market share
- US private passenger auto 18.64% (2025 direct premiums earned, NAIC, released Mar 2026), 4bp ahead of Progressive (18.60%); GEICO third (~11.6%); homeowners ~18.7% (2025, secondary tabulation of NAIC data) to ~19.4% (2024, S&P Global)
10 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1922
Founding Farmers Auto Mutual
Founding
1942
Captive Agent System and Number One in Auto
Launch (distribution model) and expansion
1999
Avery Verdict Campbell and Hale Racketeering Case
Litigation / regulatory settlement (controversy)
2005
Hurricane Katrina Wind vs Water
Catastrophe response / litigation
2009
Florida Withdrawal Plan
Restructuring (market-exit plan)
2020
Exit from Banking via US Bank
Divestiture / partnership
2022
ADT Stake and Smart Home Bet
Partnership / minority investment
2022
Auto Losses and Rate Reset
Pricing change (multi-year rate reset)
2023
California New Business Pause
Restructuring (market retreat)
2025
LA Wildfires Rate Request and Claims Probe
Catastrophe response / pricing change / regulatory action