Mountain West Farm Bureau Insurance homeowners insurance

Overview

Mountain West Farm Bureau Insurance is the Farm Bureau property and casualty insurer for Wyoming and Montana, headquartered in Laramie. It sells homeowners, renters, auto, farm and ranch, business and umbrella coverage through local Farm Bureau agents, the exclusive agent model common to Farm Bureau insurers; its affiliate 360 Insurance Company operates in Colorado. Life insurance and annuities sold by the same agents come from Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company of West Des Moines, Iowa, not from Mountain West.

The NAIC group, Mountain West Farm Group, wrote $52.7 million of homeowners premiums in Wyoming in 2025, 12.49% of the market, making it the 3rd-largest home insurer in the state behind State Farm and Farmers Insurance, according to NAIC market share data. In Montana it ranked 6th with $44.0 million and 5.45%. It is not in the national top 100. The 2025 numbers came at a cost: its homeowners loss ratio was about 91% in both states, based on the same NAIC data, far above the national homeowners figure of about 55%.

Since September 2026 Mountain West has been owned by IFB Mutual Insurance Holding Company, the parent of Farm Bureau Insurance Company of Idaho. The brand, agents and Laramie office continue.

History

The Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation created the company in 1948 to give its members insurance, starting with the Agricultural Insurance Company of Wyoming and Agricultural Indemnity Company of Wyoming, according to Mountain West's timeline. Farm and ranch coverage followed in 1952 and fire insurance in 1954. In 1958 the Wyoming company partnered with the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, and in 1973 it took the name Mountain West Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company to reflect the two-state partnership. It moved into its current building at 931 Boulder Drive in Laramie, shared with the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, in 2003, and in 2011 it founded 360 Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary in western Colorado.

After two years of volatile results eroded its capital, Mountain West's board agreed in October 2025 to merge the company into IFB Mutual Insurance Holding Company. Under the deal Mountain West converted from a policyholder-owned mutual into a stock insurance company wholly owned by the Idaho holding company. The Idaho Department of Insurance held a public hearing on the Form A acquisition application on July 13, 2026, and Farm Bureau Insurance Company of Idaho announced in September 2026 that it had received all approvals and completed the acquisition. The combined group serves more than 130,000 members in Idaho, Washington, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, with over $800 million in annual premium, and Mountain West keeps its brand in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado.

Homeowners coverage

The standard homeowners policy covers the dwelling, other structures such as a detached garage or shed, personal property, loss of use and personal liability; personal property can be upgraded to replacement cost. Its signature product is the Country Home policy for owners with a small acreage, horses, some livestock or limited agricultural production, a situation where a standard homeowners policy can leave gaps. It covers the home, additional structures and limited farm personal property, including saddles, tack, livestock and hay, adds farm liability for the exposures of country living, and offers options for replacement cost on household contents, earthquake, backup of sewer or drains and a waiver of the glass deductible. Full working operations belong on a farm and ranch policy instead (see farm and ranch homes: when you need a farmowners policy).

Inland marine coverage can schedule jewelry, furs, silverware, guns, fine art and hearing aids, and cover watercraft, ATVs and other recreational equipment. An umbrella adds liability limits over home and auto, and renters policies cover belongings for tenants.

Mountain West's site does not publish its deductible options or roof settlement rules. In a hail state, ask your agent whether you have a separate wind/hail deductible and whether an older roof is paid at actual cash value.

Discounts and savings

Mountain West lists five homeowners discounts: new home, applied automatically if the house was built in the last 10 years; home alert, for qualifying alarm and alert systems; resistive roofing, for roofs of qualifying wind- or hail-resistive materials; loyalty, for staying insured with the company for certain periods; and package policy, for insuring home and autos together. The resistive roofing credit is the one to price when you replace a roof (see Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofs and hail discounts).

Where it sells and recent market moves

Mountain West writes in Wyoming and Montana, and through 360 Insurance in Colorado; it says it is the top writer of farm and ranch insurance in both Wyoming and Montana. The last few years were hard. AM Best reported in October 2025 that volatile operating performance had materially eroded the company's capital and weakened its balance sheet, and that Mountain West had responded by raising rates in line with indications, making more use of data and analytics and managing its exposure, with improvement in the first half of 2025. In practice that means higher rates and tighter underwriting for homeowners.

The Idaho acquisition is meant to fix the capital problem. For policyholders the practical effect is limited so far: the companies say you keep working with the same local agent under the Mountain West brand, now backed by a larger group.

Claims

Claims start with your agent. Call or email your agent's office to report what happened; the agent files the claim electronically, and a claims representative contacts you within three business days, longer after a large catastrophe. Mountain West inspects the property itself at no charge and says it will never send a contractor to your property without talking to you first. Its contractor checklist is sound advice after any hail or wind storm: confirm licensing, make sure the contractor pulls permits, sign a written contract, never pay cash, and never pay more than 10% or $1,000 down (see hail damage claims: roofs, siding and windows).

Ratings and reputation

AM Best rates Mountain West Farm Bureau B++ (Good), with a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "bbb." In May 2025 AM Best revised the outlook to negative. In October 2025 it placed the ratings under review with positive implications after the merger announcement, saying the new parent's stronger capital base should help, and on June 5, 2026 it kept them under review pending the deal's close. AM Best said it would finish its review once the deal closed, so check the current rating at ambest.com; B++ is below the A- level some lenders and condo boards prefer (see Financial strength ratings: AM Best, S&P, Moody's and Demotech). The new parent, Farm Bureau Insurance Company of Idaho, says it holds an AM Best A (Excellent) rating.

Who it suits

Mountain West suits Wyoming and Montana homeowners, especially on acreage or small ranches, who want a local Farm Bureau agent and one company for home, auto and farm coverage; the Country Home policy is built for exactly that buyer. It suits less well homeowners who want to compare several companies through one independent agent, buyers who need a carrier rated A- or better, or anyone outside its three states.

• Strengths: 3rd-largest home insurer in Wyoming and 6th in Montana; Country Home policy for small acreages and livestock; resistive roofing and new-home discounts; now part of a larger Farm Bureau group with stronger capital.
• Weaknesses: AM Best rating of B++ (Good), below the A range; a 2025 homeowners loss ratio near 91% and rate increases tied to its recovery; claims are reported through the agent rather than a published 24/7 claims line; sold only by Farm Bureau agents.

How to contact Mountain West Farm Bureau Insurance