State Farm Insurance Cos Essay ⋆ Business Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The State Farm Group, headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, is an insurance and financial services company serving the United States and parts of Canada (Alberta, New Brunswick, and Ontario). State Farm’s mission is “to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams.” The company has a strong reputation based on its values: quality service, quality relationships, mutual trust, integrity, and financial strength. As of 2007, State Farm had more than 17,000 agents, 68,000 employees, and 75 million policies in the United States and Canada. State Farm serves its customers through 13 regional zones. State Farm opened its first Canadian office in Toronto in 1938. For 2007, the combined net worth of the State Farm group of companies was estimated to be $63.7 billion.

State Farm was founded by a retired farmer, George Jacob Mecherle, on June 7, 1922, as the State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. It initially concentrated on providing automobile insurance for Illinois farmers. Mecherle thought that farmers drove less and had fewer accidents than city dwellers, and thus should pay less for automobile insurance. His founding philosophy for State Farm was based on insurance coverage at a fair price coupled with fair claim settlement. By 1942, State Farm was the largest automobile insurer in the United States and has retained its largest ranking every year since. In 2008

State Farm created its Code of Conduct reaffirming Mecherle’s philosophy with its current chairman’s statement, “At State Farm, not only do we do what is legal, but we also do what is right.” State Farm’s well-known theme song “Like a Good Neighbor” was written by composer and entertainer Barry Manilow and debuted in 1971.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent company of a number of wholly owned subsidiaries that provide health insurance, property insurance, life insurance, banking products, and mutual funds. Its automobile business is underwritten by its State Farm Mutual, State Farm Indemnity, State Farm Guaranty, and State Farm Texas County Mutual units. State Farm Indemnity and State Farm Guaranty serve the unique automobile insurance needs in New Jersey, and State Farm Texas County Mutual serves motorists in Texas. Its fire insurance business is underwritten by its State Farm Fire and

Casualty, State Farm Lloyds, State Farm General, and State Farm Florida units. These subsidiaries offer homeowners, business insurance, and other lines. Homeowners insurance was first offered by the company in 1955, and by 1966, State Farm was the largest writer of homeowners insurance in the United States. State Farm General provides homeowners and property liability insurance in the state of California, and State Farm Florida provides homeowners and property liability insurance in the state of Florida.

State Farm classifies its health insurance business into five categories: Medicare supplement, disability income, long-term care, hospital surgical, and hospital income. Its insurance and annuity business is underwritten by its State Farm Life insurance Company and State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company. In 2007, the affiliate units held 7.7 million policies in force valued at $685 million. As of 2007, the combined net worth of the life affiliates was valued at $5.7 billion. State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company operates to the special requirements for life insurance in New York, Connecticut, and Wisconsin. Its property/casualty reinsurance business is underwritten by its State Farm Mutual unit.

State Farm Bank And Mutual Funds

Chartered in 1998 and launched in 2000, the State Farm Bank offers lending in four areas: vehicles, home equity, mortgages, and credit cards. On the deposits side, State Farm Bank offers savings and checking accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts. The State Farm Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and is an Equal Housing Lender. As of 2007, State Farm Bank had 1.9 million accounts and assets of $15.9 billion. As a virtual organization, its services are available only through agents, online, by phone, and through the mail.

Its mutual fund business is composed of two entities: State Farm VP Management Corporation and State Farm Investment Management Corporation. These units have approximately $4.6 billion under management, representing over 406,000 accounts. State Farm offers a number of actively managed fund portfolios under the LifePath Funds brand managed by Barclays Global Fund Advisors. These funds offer a time-horizon-based mix of investments in domestic stocks, international stocks, domestic bonds, and money market funds with holdings in 10 asset classes. State Farm also offers a variety of individual stock and bond funds as well as money market funds.

Bibliography:

Jeremy A. Ball, “Flood Damaged and Salvaged Automobiles Threaten Consumer Woes: Hurricane Katrina and Rita & the $40 Million State Farm Insurance Settlement,” Army Lawyer (v.390, 2005);
“Diversity and Inclusion: An Interview with Vincent J. Trosino. Sr., President of State Farm Insurance,” Black Collegian (v.34/2, 2004);
John Gibeaut, “Harvesting Bad Faith: Court to Re-examine Punitive Damages in State Farm Insurance Case,” ABA Journal (v.88, 2002);
Daniel Hays, “State Farm to Repay Florida Homeowners,” National Underwriter/Property & Casualty Risk & Benefits Management (v.112/34, 2008);
Ryan Melcher, “State Farm Insurance Company: The Unitary Thrift Holding Company Model for Integrated Financial Services,” North Carolina Banking Institute (v.7, 2003);
Roger Parloff, “The Siege of State Farm,” Fortune (v.157/9, 2008);
Lewis Pryor, “Using a Blog to Communicate During Hurricane Katrina at State Farm,” Business Communicator (v.6/8, 2006);
State Farm, www.statefarm.com (cited March 2009).

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