Insurer Profile: State Farm
State Farm is an insurance and financial services company that services more than 80 million insurance policies in the United States.
Company Roots: In 1922, a retired farmer named George Mecherle founded State Farm as a mutual insurance company for auto insurance. The company started out with a specialty in offering auto insurance for farmers, and eventually added homeowners and life insurance. Later, it began offering banking and financial services.
State Farm is known for its commercial jingle, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” The jingle was originally written and recorded by Barry Manilow in 1971.
The company is based in Bloomington, Ill., and sells its insurance and financial services products primarily through a network of agents located throughout the United States. State Farm currently has about 70,000 employees and 19,000 agents.
Lines of Business: State Farm offers insurance for automobiles, homes and life, as well as banking and financial services products. In addition to traditional car insurance, State Farm offers some extras, such as Rideshare insurance for customers who drive for companies like Uber and Lyft. If your car is in the shop because of a covered collision, State Farm will pay for a rental car as well as meals, lodging and transportation if you’re more than 50 miles away from home. And drivers who take advantage of the Steer Clear driver refresher course or the Drive Safe and Save driver analysis can save money on their State Farm policies.
The company’s insurance policies include 44 million auto policies, 27 million home insurance policies, and 7 million life insurance policies. The State Farm Bank holds more than 2 million bank accounts.
Client Reviews: State Farm customers give the company an average of three stars out of five, according to Consumer Affairs. Some customers complained that they have been dropped for having too many claims, but others raved about State Farm’s customer service, saying their agents are always easy to reach and their claims have been expertly handled with little to no personal effort.
“My accident was with an uninsured motorist,” one customer wrote. “From the moment I reported the accident, they took care of everything, including collections and paid for my damages. I was only slightly inconvenienced. Their first concern was for my well-being.”
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