State Farm auto insurance

Overview

State Farm is the largest auto insurer in the United States. It ranked #1 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by 2025 direct premiums written, with $69.16 billion and an 18.61% market share, according to NAIC market share data, only narrowly ahead of Progressive. The lead company, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, is a mutual insurer owned by its policyholders rather than stockholders, which is why it can hand underwriting profits back to auto customers as dividends.

State Farm sells through captive agents: more than 19,200 agent offices that sell only State Farm products, supported by online quoting, the State Farm app and phone service. At the end of 2025 it reported nearly 97 million policies and accounts. Headquarters are at One State Farm Plaza in Bloomington, Illinois. Jon Farney became chief executive on June 1, 2024, succeeding Michael Tipsord, who remained chairman.

Auto insurance is quoted in every state and Washington, D.C., except Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In those two states State Farm offers only a limited set of auto and fire policies, on an accommodation basis, to existing customers who move there; in Rhode Island its digital affiliate HiRoad markets auto policies instead.

History

George J. Mecherle, an Illinois farmer who had turned to selling insurance, founded State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in Bloomington on June 7, 1922, and the first policy was issued that day. He ran the company until 1951. The mutual structure and risk-based pricing date from the start.

State Farm added a life insurance company in 1929 and a fire company by 1935, the root of a homeowners business that is now the largest in the country. It created a Special Disaster Services unit in 1972 and a national catastrophe team after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

State Farm's first acquisition of another insurer came 98 years after its founding: GAINSCO, a Dallas-based nonstandard auto insurance specialist focused on minimum-limits auto coverage, purchased on December 31, 2020; its policies are written by MGA Insurance Company. Other group companies include State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, State Farm County Mutual Insurance Company of Texas, State Farm Indemnity Company (New Jersey), State Farm Florida Insurance Company and HiRoad Assurance Company.

Auto insurance coverage

State Farm's auto policy includes the standard coverages:

• Liability for injuries and property damage you cause to others.
• Collision and comprehensive for damage to your own car.
• Uninsured and underinsured motor vehicle coverage for injuries caused by drivers with too little or no insurance.
• Medical payments, which helps pay medical and funeral expenses for people injured in your vehicle.

Optional coverages include emergency road service (towing and roadside repairs such as a flat tire) and car rental and travel expenses, which pays for a rental while your car is repaired and for meals, lodging and transportation if an accident happens more than 50 miles from home. State Farm also sells rideshare driver coverage to its auto customers who drive for Uber or Lyft, extending the personal policy's limits and deductibles to the time the driver app is on; see Rideshare insurance for Uber and Lyft drivers.

Discounts and programs

State Farm's main usage-based program is Drive Safe & Save. Drivers enroll in the State Farm app and stick a Bluetooth beacon to the windshield; the app scores acceleration, braking, cornering, speeding (8 mph or more over the limit), phone use while driving and, in most states, mileage. State Farm gives a 10% initial participation discount and says safe drivers can save up to 30% (New York caps the discount at 30%). The adjustment is recalculated at each renewal from up to 12 months of driving data, so it can rise or fall. Drive Safe & Save is not available in California, Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

Steer Clear is aimed at drivers under 25 (and, in some states, older drivers with less than three years' experience). Participants complete training modules and log at least five hours of driving over at least 10 trips in the app, and must have no at-fault accidents or moving violations in the past three years to earn the discount.

Other discounts on State Farm's discounts page, which vary by state:

• Good student discount of up to 25%
• Driver training discount when all drivers under 21 complete an approved course
• Student away at school (under 25, car used only on visits home)
• Good driver discount for new customers with three or more years free of moving violations and at-fault accidents, plus accident-free savings
• Defensive driving course discount in some states
• Multi-policy savings for bundling with home, renters, condo or life insurance
• Vehicle safety, passive restraint (up to 40% off medical-related coverages) and anti-theft discounts

Claims

Auto claims can be reported at 800-SF-CLAIM (800-732-5246), online or in the State Farm app, which lets you track the claim, upload photos and documents, message the claims team and set up direct deposit. Glass-only claims have a separate line, 888-624-4410. Customers can complete a virtual estimate from photos instead of an in-person inspection.

State Farm's direct repair program is called Select Service. Participating shops give a guaranteed completion date and a written limited lifetime warranty on repairs that is honored nationally; you can still choose another shop. Roadside help is available around the clock at 877-627-5757.

Ratings and reputation

Financial strength. On November 14, 2025, AM Best downgraded State Farm Group's financial strength rating to A+ (Superior) from A++ (Superior), and its long-term issuer credit rating to "aa" from "aa+", with a stable outlook. AM Best cited five consecutive years of underwriting losses and four of operating losses, driven by high auto and homeowners loss ratios, a difficult regulatory environment and weather losses, while still rating its balance sheet "strongest." See AM Best financial strength ratings explained.

Recent results. The turnaround in auto came quickly. State Farm reported 2025 net income of $12.9 billion (versus $5.3 billion in 2024) and a $4.6 billion auto underwriting gain after a $2.7 billion auto underwriting loss in 2024; homeowners and related lines still lost $3.1 billion. Net worth reached $170.0 billion. On February 26, 2026, State Farm Mutual announced a $5 billion dividend to auto customers, the largest in its history, averaging about $100 per vehicle and paid as 4% to 10% of 2025 premiums depending on the state; payments began in summer 2026. It also said rate cuts averaging 10% in 40 states were saving customers $4.6 billion a year.

Customer satisfaction. In the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study (June 2026), State Farm ranked highest in the Northwest region (667) for a second straight year, second in the Central (659), New England (662) and Southwest (649) regions, and fourth in the Mid-Atlantic (669). It scored 632 in California, just below that region's 633 average. In the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, State Farm scored 716, tied for 8th of 20 ranked insurers and above the 700 study average.

Who it suits

State Farm suits drivers who want a named local agent, who plan to bundle auto with home, renters or life coverage, and who value a mutual insurer that has just returned billions to auto customers through rate cuts and a dividend. In the 2026 J.D. Power study it scored above the regional average in nine of 11 regions, falling just below average in California and the Southeast. Drivers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island effectively cannot buy it, and shoppers who want to compare several insurers in one conversation will need an independent agent or comparison quotes elsewhere, since State Farm agents sell only State Farm.

• Strengths: More than 19,200 agent offices; 2026 auto dividend averaging about $100 per vehicle plus average 10% rate cuts in 40 states; top-ranked in the Northwest and near the top in several other J.D. Power regions; Drive Safe & Save pays 10% just for enrolling.
• Weaknesses: Not sold to new customers in Massachusetts or Rhode Island; Drive Safe & Save unavailable in California; AM Best downgrade to A+ in November 2025 after years of underwriting losses; captive agents cannot quote competitors.

How to contact State Farm