
High Street in Columbus.īy 1943, Farm Bureau Mutual operated in 12 states and the District of Columbia. In 1936, the company moved into the 246 Building at 246 N. With growth, came a need for expansion of office space. The company was later renamed to Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company in 1938. In 1935, Farm Bureau Mutual acquired the Life Insurance Company of America from the bankrupt fraternal insurer, American Insurance Union. This product grew the following year with the purchase of a struggling fire insurance company. Also, in 1934, Farm Bureau Mutual began offering fire insurance. Farm Bureau Mutual began underwriting residents of small towns in 1931 and residents in larger cities in 1934. In 1928, Farm Bureau Mutual expanded to West Virginia, followed by Maryland, Delaware, Vermont, and North Carolina.

The company wrote policies only to Ohio farmers who were members of the Ohio Farm Bureau. The first product of the new company, as its name implied, was automobile insurance. The first agents managed to recruit ten times that number, and on April 14, 1926, Farm Bureau Mutual started business with over 1,000 policyholders. Īt that time, Ohio law required 100 people to pledge to become policyholders.

On April 10, 1926, the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company obtained license to do business in Ohio, and two days later, it acquired its financing-a $10,000 loan drawn from the membership dues of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.

The Ohio Farm Bureau decided to set up their own insurance company to offer rates that accurately reflected the driving habits of farmers.
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In the 1920s, farmers were paying the same rates on their automobile insurance as city drivers even though they had fewer accidents and claims than city drivers. History Beginnings as Farm Bureau Mutual 2.3 Helping Columbus become a major league city.
