1922 to 2000 ;1922 Farmers' future co-founders John C. Tyler and Thomas E. Leavey first met after Tyler moved to
California. Tyler and Leavey had both grown up with rural backgrounds and believed that farmers and ranchers, who had better driving records than urbanites, deserved lower insurance premiums. During the 1920s, farmers across the United States were establishing their own mutual insurance firms and cooperatives in order to have less expensive policies. Tyler, the son of a South Dakotan insurance salesman, and Leavey, who had formerly worked for the
Federal Farm Loan Bureau and the
National Farm Loan Association, recognized that these farmers, ranchers, and other rural drivers were an overlooked market and wished to create their own auto insurance firm. ;1935
Truck Insurance Exchange, a new
reciprocal insurer, was launched to specialize in truck insurance. ;1942
Fire Insurance Exchange, the third reciprocal insurer, was launched, specializing in home insurance. ;1989, 1991, and 1994 Multiple, large-scale disasters posed financial challenges to Farmers Insurance. The
1989 San Francisco earthquake,
1991 Oakland fire, and
1994 Northridge, California, earthquake were the three most significant disasters.
2000 to present ;2000 In March 2000, the Farmers Exchanges acquired Foremost Corporation of America (Foremost Insurance Group), a leading writer of
manufactured homes and a prominent insurer of
recreational vehicles, boats and other specialty lines. In August 2000, Farmers Financial Solutions registered with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a
broker-dealer. Through it, Farmers began offering
mutual fund and
variable insurance products. In October 2000, the Zurich structure was simplified and unified under a single Swiss holding company. Allied Zurich and Zurich Allied shares were replaced by shares of the newly incorporated
Zurich Financial Services with a primary listing on
SWX Swiss Exchange (
ticker symbol: ZURN) and a secondary listing in London. Zurich Financial Services
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are traded on the American Stock Exchange. ;2005 In 2005, after
Hurricane Rita hit
Beaumont, Texas, leaving it without power, Farmers Insurance brought in almost 300 insurance adjusters to assess exterior property damage in order to expedite the reconstruction effort, provided $100,000 for the emergency operations center, and two badly needed megawatt electric generators. ;2007 In July 2007, the Farmers Exchanges acquired Bristol West Holdings, Inc., the parent of a group of insurers specializing in non-standard auto insurance, which provides insurance coverage for drivers whose driving records or other problems make obtaining insurance difficult. During the
October 2007 California wildfires, Farmers was one of only a few companies to set up facilities to aid their customers. In addition to writing checks for evacuation costs, damage claims, lodging and meals, the company ran commercials urging their customers to take advantage of these facilities. The company now also has 2 buses serving as Mobile Command Centers. This mobile claim center arrived at
Qualcomm Stadium only two days after the fires started. ;2009 In April 2009, Farmers announced that it would acquire 21st Century Insurance from AIG for $1.9 billion. The acquisition made Farmers the joint third-largest personal lines insurer in the U.S. The acquired assets included AIG Hawaii. ;2014 In response to the increasing number of deadly storms between 2010 and 2013, Farmers Insurance began "researching a model that municipalities across the United States could use to significantly reduce the time required for residential recovery." Teaming with
SBP, a disaster relief organization based out of
New Orleans, the result was the Disaster Recovery Playbook, an evolving online resource. Since the guide's initial creation, AmeriCorps has been brought onto the team. ;2020 In December 2020, Farmers Exchanges and Farmers Group, Inc. (FGI) announced they will jointly acquire MetLife's property and casualty business (MetLife Auto & Home). ==Operations==