State Farm Insurance Company Bloomed in Bloomington
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The largest employer in Bloomington-Normal and the No. 1 insurer of cars and homes in Illinois began with the idea of a Bloomington farmer.
George Mecherele founded State Farm Insurance Cos. in 1922 after witnessing farmers being charged the same price for automobile insurance as city drivers‚ though the farmers drove significantly less.
Today‚ State Farm doesn’t insure just farmers’ vehicles. In fact‚ it insures nearly one of every six cars and one of every five single-family homes in the United States.
In McLean County‚ the Bloomington-based company has four buildings and more than 14‚000 employees.
Jeff McCollum‚ media specialist for State Farm‚ says the company chose to keep its headquarters in the community where it was founded for excellent reasons. “I think Bloomington reflects our Midwestern ideals and our Midwestern work ethic‚” he says. “It’s a great place to live and raise a family. It’s a family-oriented business.”
State Farm also offers renters’ insurance‚ business insurance‚ life insurance and health insurance in all 50 states and Ontario‚ Canada.
A relatively new side of State Farm‚ which began in 1998‚ is its online banking services. “Our bank is virtual. There’s no actual bank that says ‘State Farm’ on it‚” McCollum says. “We offer banking and financial services such as mutual funds‚ CDs and other retirement-type services.”
State Farm boasts more than 17‚000 independent agents from coast to coast and more than 76 million policies and accounts. “We like to think that in almost any town in America‚ you can walk down Main Street and bump into a State Farm agent‚” he says.
Story by Jenni Betts
