Largest Car Insurance Companies in the United States

Which companies provide the highest number of auto insurance in the U.S.? The simple measure is the number of insured drivers and not the television commercials that you see almost every break from your program. The basic idea of insurance is to get as many people contributing to a common fund at a minimal cost in order to cover the losses of those who would need the assistance. These losses would normally be twice or three times more than the participant contributed in the first place, which makes it a very sensible expense. The more people are insured by an insurance company, the broader the risk is spread among the insured and the more secure every insured driver will be. Here are the largest insurers in the U.S.

State Farm

Based in Bloomington, Illinois, State Farm covers the risk of 18.6% of all the drivers in the U.S. The company was established by George J. Mecherle in 1877. This privately-run company hires 17,700 insurance agents operating in the U.S. and in Canada. Apart from offering auto insurance, State Farm is also a financial services company.

Allstate

Allstate’s share of the auto insurance market is 10.5%. This Northfield Township, Illinois-based insurer is public traded and was established in 1931. Allstate is also a financial services firm offering investment products such as mutual funds, savings funds, and more.

Farmers

Over 6.4% of U.S. motorists are insured by this Los Angeles, California insurance company. Farmers was founded in 1928 by John C. Tyler and Thomas E. Leavey. This company is owned by the Zurich Financial Services company in Switzerland and originally served ranchers and farmers.

Nationwide

This Columbus-Ohio insurer owns 4.5% of the U.S. automobile insurance market. Nationwide started in 1926 and used to be called the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. The company also offers financial services and owns the Nationwide Area, which is the home of the NHL team Columbus Blue Jackets.

Liberty Mutual

This insurer is based in Boston, Massachusetts and enjoys a market share of 4.4%. It was founded back in 1912 and used to be the Massachusetts Employees Insurance Association. The insurer also operates in several nations across the world including Portugal, Spain, Poland, Venezuela, India, and Brazil.

United Services Automobile Association (USAA)

The USAA holds the policies of 4.1% of motorists in the U.S. It holds its headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. The company was formed in 1922 by a group of officers from the U.S. Army and focused on offering cheap car insurance for members of the Army. It is privately owned today and is a Fortune 500 company.

Travelers

This insurer is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota and holds 2.1% of the market of U.S. drivers. The company used to be part of the Saint Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company in 1853. But in 1864 it was rebranded as Traveler and the headquarters were moved to Hartford, Connecticut, with the old company still in operation. The two companies were merged in 2004 and was called the St. Paul Companies and Travelers Property Casualty Co.

American Family Mutual

American Family Mutual is based in Madison, Wisconsin and insures 2.0% of all U.S. motorists. The company was established by Herman Wittwer, an insurance salesman. It started operations in 1927 under the name Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, serving mostly farmers. The name change was effected in 1963 to reflect the insurer’s broader focus. The company is also a financial services firm and uses advertising heavily to push its brands to the market.