Home State Insurance Group auto insurance

Overview

Home State Insurance Group is the Waco, Texas, holding company and trade name for Home State County Mutual Insurance Company and Equity Insurance Company. Most of its premium comes from Home State County Mutual, a Texas county mutual that acts as a fronting carrier: it issues Texas auto policies that are sold and serviced by managing general agents (MGAs) and by other insurers that use a county mutual to write business in Texas. Drivers usually see the MGA's or carrier's brand, with Home State named as the insurer on the declarations page.

The group ranked #39 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by 2025 direct premiums written according to NAIC market share data, with $920.0 million in premiums and a 0.25% share. Trade publication Coverager, citing state filings, reported that Home State wrote about $830 million of MGA premium in 2023 through 36 MGAs. The largest were Imperial General Agency of Texas (about $147.6 million), Aspen Managing General Agency (about $101.9 million) and MIC Insurance Agency (about $84 million).

Its second brand, Equity Insurance Company, sells nonstandard auto insurance under its own name through independent agents in Oklahoma.

History

Home State County Mutual was incorporated in Texas on February 27, 1948. By 2000 the group, then also operating Home State Agency Inc. and Home State General Agency Inc., described itself as a nonstandard insurer with about $240 million in direct written premium. In August 2001 it bought GuideOne Insurance's Tulsa operation, GuideOne Casualty Insurance Company, whose personal auto customers were in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Georgia. Insurance Journal later described Tulsa-based Equity Insurance as acquired in 2001; Equity says it has offered auto insurance since 1965. In 2005 Equity was operating in 28 states, and the group had offices in Waco, Dallas, Austin and Tulsa. John M. Davis led the holding company at the time.

Equity's own agency business is now focused on Oklahoma (its claims page points policyholders in other states to separate instructions), while most of the group's premium is written on Home State County Mutual paper. Lemonade's Texas car insurance is among the programs written there: Coverager reported about $7.5 million of Lemonade auto premium written through Home State in 2023.

Auto insurance coverage

Home State does not design a single auto product. Coverage, limits, prices and underwriting rules come from each MGA or carrier program filed on Home State paper. Its own policy-prefix directory sends policyholders to more than two dozen program managers and insurers, including National General (Imperial and Clearside programs), Kemper, Bluefire, Apollo, AmWins, Anchor General, Freedom National, Lemonade, Safeco, State Auto, Germania, Acuity, Alfa, Mendota and others. The list mixes nonstandard specialists with standard carriers such as Safeco and State Auto that write some Texas business through a county mutual. The guide to county mutuals and fronting carriers explains how these arrangements work and what they mean for policyholders.

Equity Insurance in Oklahoma offers nonstandard auto coverage with low down payments, multiple payment plans and no credit scoring, and accepts foreign driver's licenses.

Discounts and programs

Discounts and any usage-based options depend on the program that issued your policy; Home State itself does not advertise any. Equity says multiple discounts are available through its agents and offers online payments and account management.

Claims

Home State asks policyholders to contact the MGA that services their policy for both service and claims, using the policy-prefix lookup on its website to find the right company and phone number. If the prefix is not listed, Home State's customer service line is 800-777-0404, option 2. Home State says its email box cannot accept settlement demands, subrogation demands, loss run requests or other time-sensitive documents.

Equity Insurance policyholders in Oklahoma can report a claim online, by calling 877-340-7325 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central, by calling 800-777-0404 and pressing 1 after hours, or by fax at 888-306-9539.

Ratings and reputation

Home State does not publish a financial strength rating on its websites. As of October 2026 the Better Business Bureau gave Home State County Mutual an F rating and listed it as not accredited.

The Texas Department of Insurance has disciplined Home State several times over business written through its MGAs:

• 2018 (Order No. 2018-5518): a $20,000 penalty after a 2015 exam of business through Aggressive Insurance Services and All Motorists Insurance Agency.
• 2021 (Order No. 2021-7006): restitution and a $20,000 penalty, shared with AmWins Specialty Auto, for deducting betterment from first-party auto claim payments between April 2017 and October 2020.
• 2023 (Order No. 2023-8024): restitution to qualifying policyholders and a $185,000 penalty after an exam of 2019 business through Network E&S Insurance Brokers and Kemper Personal Insurance General Agency found MGA contract gaps, unappointed agents and missing required notices.

Who it suits

Home State is not something most Texas drivers choose; it comes with the MGA or carrier program they buy. Knowing it is useful for escalating problems: if your MGA does not respond, the insurer of record and the Texas Department of Insurance are the next stops (see how to file a complaint against a car insurance company). Oklahoma drivers with imperfect records who want low down payments and no credit check may find Equity Insurance worth a quote.

• Strengths: Gives many MGAs and carriers access to Texas drivers, widening choices in the nonstandard market; Equity offers no-credit-score pricing and accepts foreign licenses; policy-prefix lookup makes it easy to find your servicing company.
• Weaknesses: No published financial strength rating; BBB rating of F as of October 2026; repeated Texas regulatory penalties tied to MGA business; service quality depends on the MGA.

How to contact Home State Insurance Group