Farmers Insurance homeowners insurance

Overview

Farmers Insurance is the fifth-largest home insurer in the United States, just behind Liberty Mutual. Its NAIC group ranked #5 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $10.31 billion, or 5.46% of the national market, according to NAIC market share data. It is above all a Western insurer. In California it was the second-largest homeowners writer in 2025, with $2.53 billion and 14.30% of the market. It ranked second in Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, third in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and South Dakota, and fourth in six states, including Texas ($1.61 billion) and Washington. Farmers says California, Texas and Washington together produce more than 45% of its direct premiums.

"Farmers" is a trade name, not one company. The insurers are three reciprocal exchanges owned by their policyholders:

• Farmers Insurance Exchange, the largest
• Fire Insurance Exchange
• Truck Insurance Exchange

Affiliated companies such as Mid-Century Insurance Company also issue policies, so check which name is on your declarations page. Farmers Group, Inc. acts as the exchanges' attorney-in-fact, providing their management and administrative services. Zurich Insurance Group has owned Farmers Group since 1998, but Zurich does not own the exchanges.

Farmers sells homeowners insurance mainly through exclusive Farmers agents, who own their agencies but represent only Farmers. It also sells online, by phone and through employers and associations under the Farmers GroupSelect name. Its Foremost companies write mobile home, landlord and other specialty dwellings, mostly through independent agents. In 2024 the group wrote $28.4 billion of gross premiums on about 12.8 million policies.

History

John C. "Jack" Tyler and Thomas E. Leavey opened Farmers in a one-room office in downtown Los Angeles in 1928. They sold auto insurance to farmers and ranchers, going farm to farm. Farmers bought New World Life of Seattle in the 1950s and says it was the first major insurer to offer a non-smoker discount, in the 1970s.

Ownership of the management company changed twice. British American Tobacco bought Farmers Group, Inc. in 1988, and Zurich acquired it in 1998. The group then expanded by acquisition:

• Foremost, founded in Michigan in 1952, joined Farmers in 2000.
• MetLife Auto & Home was bought by the Farmers Exchanges and Farmers Group for $3.94 billion. The deal closed April 7, 2021, and brought 2.4 million policies plus an exclusive 10-year arrangement to sell on MetLife's workplace benefits platform.

The group also includes 21st Century, a direct auto insurer in California, and Bristol West, a nonstandard auto insurer.

In 2023 Farmers pulled back in two exposed markets. Citing historically high catastrophe and rebuilding costs, it paused new homeowners business in Florida in June 2023 and pulled its Farmers-branded policies there a month later. It also limited new homeowners policies in California, which it began to unwind in December 2024. Both moves are covered below.

Homeowners coverage

Farmers' common homeowners policy is an HO-3 type, written on Farmers' own forms. Farmers' California announcements name its homeowners products Smart Plan Home and Next Generation Home. The policy covers:

• Coverage A (dwelling) and Coverage B (other structures)
• Coverage C (personal property)
• Coverage D (loss of use)
• Coverage E (personal liability) and Coverage F (medical payments)

Farmers offers guaranteed replacement cost as an option. It pays the full cost to rebuild even when that exceeds the dwelling limit, which is broader than extended replacement cost, a set percentage above the limit. Availability varies by state and product, so confirm it on the quote.

Other optional coverages on Farmers' site:

• water backup and sump overflow
• higher limits for valuable items
• identity fraud expense
• matching of undamaged property, which helps pay to make repaired or replaced parts of the home match the undamaged parts
• residence glass, which waives the deductible when glass in the home is accidentally broken

Farmers also sells condo, renters, landlord, mobile and manufactured home, vacant home and second-home policies. Umbrella policies are offered in $1 million steps up to $10 million. Flood is excluded from the homeowners policy. Farmers sells National Flood Insurance Program policies in all 50 states as a Write Your Own insurer. In California it participates in the California Earthquake Authority.

Discounts and savings

Farmers' homeowners discount page lists:

• bundling home with another Farmers policy, which Farmers says can save 10% or more
• claim-free, after three years without a claim
• good payer, preferred payment (in full, two installments or automatic monthly) and ePolicy
• protective devices (fire alarm, security system, sprinklers) and connected-home systems
• home safety features such as leak detection and automatic water or gas shutoff, or a roof and walls fortified against natural disasters
• green certifications (ENERGY STAR, LEED, EPA), new homes under 14 years old and UL-approved roofing
• affinity and group discounts for qualifying professions, degrees, military service and Farmers GroupSelect employers
• rent to own, for renters policyholders of more than a year who buy a home

In California the home-auto bundle discount rises to 22% from 15% for Smart Plan Home and Next Generation Home policies, starting September 15, 2026. Discounts vary by state and product.

Where it sells and recent market moves

Farmers operates in all 50 states. Its homeowners business is concentrated west of the Mississippi. In 2025 it was among the 10 largest homeowners groups in 38 states. It was not among them in Florida, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana, Hawaii, Vermont or the District of Columbia.

California. Farmers kept writing new homeowners policies throughout the state's crisis, but it rationed them. On December 11, 2024 it raised its cap from 7,000 to 9,500 new policies a month. It also reopened lines that had been paused for more than a year: condo and renters (December 14, 2024), umbrella (December 24, 2024) and Foremost landlord and vacant-home policies (March 2025). On November 21, 2025 it removed the cap entirely. At the same time it filed a 6.99% rate increase under the Sustainable Insurance Strategy. The California Department of Insurance cut the request to about 1.5% and approved it on May 12, 2026, effective September 15, 2026. As part of that approval, Farmers pledged to market to at least 300,000 policyholders in wildfire-distressed areas.

Florida. Farmers paused new homeowners business in Florida in June 2023. On July 10, 2023 it notified regulators that it would discontinue Farmers-branded auto, home and umbrella policies. Bristol West, Foremost, Foremost Signature, Foremost Choice and Farmers GroupSelect were not affected. Farmers said those brands held about 70% of its Florida policies. Florida insurance commissioner Michael Yaworsky wrote that regulators were "disappointed by the hastiness in this decision."

Results turned around in 2024. The combined ratio of the Farmers Insurance Exchange group improved to 90.0% from 106.3% in 2023, and an underwriting loss of $1.28 billion became a $1.65 billion gain. Surplus reached $8.17 billion at the end of 2024. In March 2025 Farmers said it did not expect the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires to have a material impact on its financial condition.

Claims

Report a claim 24/7 at 800-435-7764, online or in the Farmers app. Spanish speakers can call 877-732-5266, and Farmers GroupSelect customers report claims at 800-854-6011. Farmers says filing takes less than five minutes with a policy number. A claim representative then contacts you to review coverage. Online, you can check status and payments, upload receipts and documents, and schedule repairs or emergency services. Farmers runs a Catastrophe Center with storm guidance.

Ratings and reputation

AM Best affirmed the A (Excellent) financial strength rating of the members of Farmers Insurance Group, with a stable outlook, on August 1, 2025 (AM Best release via Business Wire). It cited very strong risk-adjusted capitalization, offset by elevated catastrophe exposure and reliance on about $2 billion of surplus notes.

We could not confirm a current S&P or Moody's financial strength rating from the agencies or from Farmers. The exchanges' 2024 management discussion reported S&P A (Strong) and Moody's A3 (Good) for 2023, and S&P was reported in June 2025 to have affirmed its A rating and revised the outlook to positive. The investor-relations site lists agency ratings only for the exchanges' surplus notes, which are debt ratings, not financial strength ratings.

Farmers was not among the homeowners insurers named in the releases for J.D. Power's 2025 and 2026 U.S. Home Insurance Studies or its 2026 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study.

Who it suits

Farmers suits homeowners in California, the Mountain West and the Northwest who want a local agent, a home-auto bundle and the option of guaranteed replacement cost. It is less of a fit in Florida, where Farmers-branded home policies are gone, and on much of the East Coast, where it is a smaller player. Because its agents represent only Farmers, comparing prices means getting quotes elsewhere.

• Strengths: 5th-largest U.S. home insurer and 2nd in California; policyholder-owned exchanges rated A (Excellent) by AM Best, affirmed August 2025; guaranteed replacement cost, matching and residence glass coverages; a 22% home-auto discount in California from September 2026.
• Weaknesses: discontinued Farmers-branded homeowners in Florida in 2023; rationed new California policies until November 2025; sold mainly through exclusive agents who cannot quote other carriers; a smaller presence along much of the East Coast.

How to contact Farmers Insurance