State Farm
| State Farm logo | |
| Company type | Mutual |
|---|---|
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Founded | 1922 |
| Headquarters | Bloomington, Illinois |
Key people | Edward B. Rust Jr., CEO & Chairman |
| Products | Insurance, Banking, & Investing |
| Revenue | $56.0646 billion USD (2004) [1] |
Number of employees | 79,000 |
| Website | www.statefarm.com |
State Farm Insurance Companies are a group of large US insurance and financial services companies started in 1922 by former farmer George J. Mecherle (pronounced Ma-herl). The corporate headquarters is in Bloomington, Illinois.
History
State Farm was founded as a mutual automobile insurance company owned by its policyholders. Despite the company's name, State Farm did not initially begin as a crop insurance company. Specifically, State Farm specialized in auto insurance for farmers. Founder George J. Mecherle believed that since farmers drove less and had fewer losses than city drivers, they should pay less for insurance. His idea was popular with farmers and made his new company successful.
Since its inception, State Farm has expanded its services into other popular types of insurance, such as homeowners and life insurance, in addition to banking and financial services.
State Farm has grown to include 79,200 employees and more than 16,700 agents servicing 71.6 million policies in the United States and Canada.
Edward B. Rust, Jr. is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Bloomington, Ill. He is also president and chief executive officer of State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, State Farm Life Insurance Company and other principal State Farm affiliates.
Criticism
- ABC's "20/20" claims State Farm cheated Katrina victims
- ABC's 20/20 Mischaracterizes State Farm's Claims-Handling Process
CEOs
| CEO | Years Served |
|---|---|
| George J. Mecherle | 1922 - 1937 |
| Raymond Mecherle | 1937 - 1954 |
| Adlai Rust | 1954 - 1970 |
| Edward B. Rust, Sr. | 1970 - 1985 |
| Edward B. Rust, Jr. | 1985 - Present |
Financial services
Recently, State Farm has expanded into the financial services arena, such as banking and mutual funds. These are separate from its insurance products.
Trivia
- State Farm is the nation's largest automobile insurance provider, covering one in every 5 vehicles in America.
- The well-known jingle ("Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there") is just the tag ending on a full-length song. The song was written by legendary American songwriter Barry Manilow in 1971.