State Farm Insurance

Founded in 1922, State Farm Insurance is the largest property, casualty, and auto insurer in the United States. Its corporate headquarters are located in Bloomington, Illinois.

In the 2022 Fortune 500, which ranks American companies by revenue, State Farm is ranked 42nd. It is the largest property and casualty insurance provider in the United States.

Only State Farm agents can sell State Farm insurance, and their agents can only sell State Farm products. State Farm uses exclusive agents (also known as captive agents) to sell insurance.

The bank, State Farm Financial Services, opened in May 1999 and is operated by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., a subsidiary of State Farm Bank. These are separate from its insurance products. State Farm Bank does not have branch offices; its regular banking services are available to consumers nationwide via the Internet or over the phone, and through agents. Home mortgages are available nationwide over the phone or through agents.

In the 1950s, State Farm held a contest among the agents to come up with ideas to expand the State Farm business. A Chicago agent, Robert H. Kent, came up with the idea of providing auto loans to existing policyholders. The program was a success and was rolled out to all agents. Robert H. Kent received royalties on the program for 20 years. This event created the first marketing partnership between insurance companies and banks. Click Here

History of State Farm Insurance

A mutual automobile insurance company owned by its policyholders, State Farm was founded in June 1922 by retired farmer George J. Mecherle. In contrast to rival companies, which had to pay the high premiums of urban motorists, the company specialized in farmer auto insurance and offered better rates. It then expanded services into other types of insurance, such as homeowners and life insurance, and then to banking and financial services.

State Farm had 19,000 agents and 70,000 employees as of December 2017. Approximately 80 million policies are handled by the group in the United States and Canada in February 2014, including 44 million automobile policies, 27 million fire policies, 7 million life policies, and more than 2 million bank accounts.

Michael L. Tipsord is chairman and CEO of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. By 2017, State Farms announced its plan to exit 11 facilities in America with the goal of streamlining and improving processes. In 2014, it already sold its operations in Canada to Desjardins Group, which continued to use the State Farm name. Canadian policies were transferred to be underwritten by Desjardins Group on January 1, 2015. The State Farm brand continued to be used for agents and marketing until 2018. In May 2023, the company announced it would stop issuing new home insurance policies in California due to wildfire risks as well as surging costs for construction.

CEOs

George J. Mecherle – 1922–1937 (14)
Raymond Mecherle – 1937–1954 (16)
Adlai Rust – 1954–1970 (15)
Edward B. Rust Sr. – 1970–1985 (14)
Edward B. Rust Jr. – 1985–2015 (29)
Michael L. Tipsord – 2015 – present

State Farm Safety Patrol – State Farm, in partnership with several U.S. highway authorities, operates a service called the State Farm Safety Patrol which provides free roadside assistance to stranded motorists on participating highways. When a driver calls the designated telephone number for the Safety Patrol, they will be connected to an operator who will provide the following services: fuel refills; radiator refills; engine oil refills. Most Safety Patrol personnel are also CPR and Automated External Defibrillator certified. They work to reduce accident rates, minimize the duration time of incidents, assist disabled drivers and remove road debris. Turnpikes which currently participate include Florida’s Turnpike in the State of Florida and the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In Ohio, State Farm–branded safety patrol vans service major highways in the Cincinnati, Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Akron, and Canton areas on weekdays.

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