How Farm Bureaus Keep Winning

By Vrushank Nayak | June 29, 2026

At a time when many U.S. personal lines insurers are trying to maintain underwriting profits without alienating customers, several farm bureau insurers are doing both.

Start with settling claims. An average of 79.1% of auto claims from five farm bureaus were closed with a payment in 2025, compared with 71.4% for Progressive, Geico, State Farm and Allstate, according to an analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ Pro. The analysis focuses on five farm bureau insurers — Texas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Missouri and Iowa-based Farm Bureau Financial Services — all of which were recognized by Forbes as among the best auto or home insurers.

Farm Bureau Insurance (Georgia), Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee, Florida Farm Bureau Insurance and Mississippi Farm Bureau Insurance were also in the Forbes list but their claim data was not available in S&P Capital IQ Pro.

Texas Farm Bureau reported that it settled 100% of auto claims with payment in 2025, while Kentucky Farm Bureau settled 93% and North Carolina Farm Bureau nearly 80%.

The performance comes as competition for policyholders intensifies and carriers fight harder for customers using service, customer experience and price. Farm bureau insurers, however, don't have all those arrows in their quivers so they have built a model rooted in local relationships, disciplined cost management, diversified product offerings and community-based claim service — that is helping them compete with their larger national rivals.

Unlike many national insurers, North Carolina Farm Bureau can't rely on billion-dollar advertising budgets to attract customers. Instead, it competes by making claim handling a defining part of its customer experience.

"Claims handling is probably the most effective tool that we have available," said Allen Houck, executive vice president and general manager of North Carolina Farm Bureau. "We don't have the advertising dollars to compete with national carriers, so we need a strong word-of-mouth, community-based reputation to keep our market share."

Houck said the insurer focuses on responding quickly to claim requests, assigning customers an agent and settling covered claims as quickly as possible. Members that have their claims settled quickly and easily often refer NCFB to their friends helping the insurer grow. Positive claim experiences frequently generate referrals, helping the insurer grow despite competing against much larger carriers.

At Missouri Farm Bureau, Nick Schollmeyer, a senior director, agreed that customer-agent relationships become most important after a policyholder files a claim.

"Claims are where an insurance company proves its value," Schollmeyer said. "A customer may choose a policy based on coverage or price, but they remember how they were treated when they had a loss."

North Carolina Farm Bureau also maintains offices in each of the state's 100 counties, allowing customers to work directly with local agents, customer service representatives and claim adjusters.

"We are not technology driven," Houck said. "Technology is a great tool, but insurance can be complicated and we find there is real value in having local agents, customer service representatives, and claim adjusters who our customers can speak to directly."

The carrier posted a profit margin of 9.8% in 2025 after a break-even in 2024. Its underwriting rebounded to a $123.2 million gain in 2025 from a loss of $88.1 million the year before.

And better claim handling by resolving the cases quickly without making it too expensive for the policyholder "can have a favorable impact on sales and retention, and can impact margins," added Houck.

Missouri Farm Bureau's strategy is built around customer service.

"What makes Missouri Farm Bureau stand out is that our customer relationships are not transactional," said Garrett Hawkins, president of the insurer, which is based in Jefferson City. "Our members are not just policy numbers and our agents are not distant call center representatives reading from a script."

Missouri Farm Bureau turned underwriting around to $54.1 million gain last year from a $19.6 million loss in 2024. Its margins also improved to 14% in 2025 from -0.1% in 2024.

Industry analysts say operating models that keep a tight focus on settling claims and ensuring that customers are satisfied create advantages that are difficult for larger national car-riers to replicate.

"A key factor is their 'local' focus and management/control as well as an agent workforce in the community," said Mark Garrett, director of insurance intelligence at JD Power. Farm bureau insurers also benefit from a diverse product offering.

Many farm bureau organizations sell life and annuity products alongside property and casualty insurance, creating multiple customer relationships while producing a steadier stream of earnings just like the larger carriers but being community-based provides an edge.

"If you have an auto or homeowners policy with an agent, you also have a life and annuity product with them," said Chris Lewis, associate director at AM Best. "You're less likely to surrender the P&C products as well and go to a different carrier." The broader product mix also helps smooth earnings volatility during difficult underwriting cycles.

Houck said North Carolina Farm Bureau's operating philosophy extends beyond claims.

"We keep our expenses as lean as we can, so we can pay as much of every premium dollar back out in claims as we can," he said.

Houck also cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from claims closed without payment, noting that many claims close without payment because losses fall below deductibles or involve excluded perils.

"Ultimately, there is no secret sauce," said Loretta Worters, vice president of media relations at the Insurance Information Institute "The carriers that consistently perform well are those that combine financial strength, disciplined underwriting, strong claims execution and meaningful customer engagement."

Indeed, farm bureau insurers are showing that local relationships, lean operations and effective claims service can provide an advantage in an increasingly competitive market.

Methodology: After several Farm Bureau insurers appeared on Forbes' 2026 Best Insurance Companies list, P&C Specialist analyzed S&P Global Market Intelligence claim data, comparing claims closed with and without payment from 2021-2025, and reviewed, underwriting gains and profit margins—calculated as net income divided by total revenue—to assess how the carriers' claim practices align with their financial performance. Paid claim closure rate is calculated as claims closed with payment divided by all closed claims.