Farmers Car Insurance Review
Farmers is best read in 2026 as a captive-agent multi-brand group, not as a single carrier. A Farmers quote tends to run above the national average on publisher rate models, but the same shopper may land at Bristol West for non-standard risk or Foremost for specialty — a path few top-10 competitors offer. The useful spine of the review is the exclusive-agent model, the Signal telematics rate-up mechanics, and two material 2023-2025 events (Florida market reduction, the 1.1M-policyholder vendor data breach) that materially shape "should I buy Farmers?" for a reader in 2026.
YesWeSure Bottom Line
Farmers is one of the few top-10 writers that still defaults to a named local agent, backed by a multi-brand group (Bristol West, Foremost, 21st Century, Toggle) that gives most shoppers somewhere to land. Modeled rates read above the national average and the Signal telematics program can raise premiums, which pulls the decision toward service and bundle value.
Strong at
Multi-brand group plus a named exclusive agent
Farmers runs the largest exclusive-agent personal-lines network in the U.S. (~48,000 agents) and a multi-brand group — Bristol West for non-standard, Foremost for specialty, 21st Century for California direct, Toggle for digital — so a shopper rarely has to leave the group to find a tier that fits.
Watch for
Signal rate-up mechanics and the 2025 vendor data breach
Signal telematics can raise your renewal premium (not just discount), and no Signal discount is offered in California, Florida, Hawaii, New York, or South Carolina. Separately, a September 2025 Salesforce vendor-chain breach exposed names, addresses, DOB, drivers license, and last-four SSN for 1,111,386 Farmers policyholders.
Worth comparing if
Bundle-first and agent-first households
Farmers is worth quoting if you want a named agent, plan to bundle home or life, or know your risk may land at Bristol West or Foremost rather than at Farmers itself. Less compelling for a pure-price direct-channel shopper.
Quote-dependent
State availability, Florida sub-brand routing, and which exchange writes you
Which Farmers underwriting exchange writes your policy, whether a Farmers-branded auto quote is even available in your state (not in AK, DE, HI, ME, NH, RI, VT, WV, or DC), and whether your Florida business routes to Bristol West or Foremost since Farmers-branded new issuance stopped in July 2023.
At a glance
Parent
Farmers Group, Inc. (attorney-in-fact), wholly owned by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd3
Availability
Approximately 42 U.S. states (Farmers-branded auto); Florida new business ended July 2023
Distribution
Exclusive-agent (~48,000 agents); multi-brand under Bristol West, Foremost, 21st Century, Toggle6
AM Best FSR
A (Excellent); affirmed Sept 3, 2026; stable outlook; ICR outlook Positive2
Market share (2024)
3.76% group PPA DWP; #6 nationally1
Telematics program
Signal (not available for discount in CA, FL, HI, NY, SC)13
Multi-brand coverage
Bristol West (non-standard), Foremost (specialty), 21st Century (CA direct), Toggle (digital)4
Material 2025 event
September 2025 vendor-chain data breach affecting 1,111,386 policyholders7
Strengths & considerations
Strengths
- Multi-brand group with a path for every risk tier. A Farmers quote may be out of range for your profile, but the same shopper can land at Bristol West (non-standard), Foremost (specialty / standard), or 21st Century (California direct) without leaving the group.4
- Named local agent on the Farmers-branded policy. Farmers runs the largest exclusive-agent personal-lines network in the U.S. If face-to-face agent service matters, Farmers is one of the few top-10 writers that still delivers it as the default.6
- Positive AM Best signal in 2026. AM Best revised the Issuer Credit Rating outlook to Positive from Stable on September 3, 2026, while affirming the FSR at A (Excellent). Movement is in the right direction for a #6 writer.2
- Broad coverage menu. Rideshare, accident forgiveness after three claim-free years, loan/lease gap, new-car replacement in the first two years, and customized equipment are all offered — a wider standard menu than some national peers.11
Considerations
- Modeled premiums frequently above the national average. NerdWallet puts the composite Farmers full-coverage rate at about $4,007/year versus a $4,712 national average on its profile; U.S. News reports $3,435 versus a $2,508 benchmark, roughly $927 above. Expect Farmers to compete on service and bundle rather than on raw premium.10
- Signal telematics can raise your renewal premium. Signal advertises 5% at enrollment and up to 15% at renewal, but risky driving at renewal can push the rate up rather than down. No discount offered in California, Florida, Hawaii, New York, or South Carolina.13
- 2025 vendor-chain data breach. A September 2025 Salesforce vendor compromise exposed names, addresses, DOB, drivers license, and last-four SSN for 1,111,386 Farmers policyholders. 24 months of identity monitoring offered; multiple putative class actions pending.7
- Florida retrenchment still in effect for Farmers-branded auto. Farmers-branded auto stopped new issuance in Florida in July 2023 (~100,000 total policies non-renewed across lines). Florida shoppers wanting the group often land at Bristol West or Foremost, not Farmers directly.8
Corporate structure and sibling brands
Farmers is best understood in 2026 as a group, not a single carrier. The Farmers Exchanges (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange) are policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges domiciled in California. Farmers Group, Inc., the attorney-in-fact that manages non-claims operations, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. Zurich has no ownership interest in the Exchanges themselves3.
Consumer-facing sibling brands still writing personal auto under the group umbrella include Bristol West (non-standard personal auto, nationwide), Foremost (standard-to-preferred and specialty), 21st Century (direct, primarily California), and Toggle (digital brand)4.
Coverage options
Farmers writes standard personal auto coverages plus a wide add-on menu. State availability and endorsement limits vary; confirm at quote time.
- Liability11
- Collision11
- Comprehensive11
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist11
- Personal injury protection: Where state requires.11
- Medical payments11
- Rental reimbursement11
- Roadside assistance11
- Loan/lease (gap): Up to 25% of actual cash value.11
- New-car replacement: First 2 model years or 24,000 miles.11
- Accident forgiveness: One at-fault accident forgiven per three claim-free years.11
- Rideshare coverage: Fills the carrier-period-1 gap.11
- Customized equipment11
Discounts
Farmers markets roughly two dozen auto discounts; the categories below are what the farmers.com reduce-premiums page and multiple state filings consistently publish. Farmers does not publish uniform maximum percentages outside bundle, pay-in-full, and Signal; expect your quote to be the authoritative amount.
- Multi-policy (auto + home or life): Bundle discount advertised up to roughly 20%. (up to ~20%)5
- Multi-vehicle: More than one vehicle on the same policy.5
- Good student: Full-time student under 25, 3.0 GPA or equivalent class rank/test score.5
- Signal telematics: 5% at enrollment; up to 15% at renewal (see telematics section). (up to 15% at renewal)13
- Pay-in-full: Pay the premium in full up front. (10%)14
- Electronic funds transfer / autopay: Automatic payments.14
- Affinity / group / alumni / professional: Membership in eligible organizations.14
- Homeowner / renter: Available in some states even without bundling the full home policy with Farmers.14
- Continuous insurance / prior insurance: Prior coverage without a lapse.14
- Defensive-driver course: Completion of approved course.14
- Early shopping / early quote: Quote before current policy expires.14
- Military: Active-duty, retired, or deployed service members.14
- ePolicy / paperless: Electronic policy delivery.14
- Youthful driver training: Driver-education certificate for young drivers.14
Signal (telematics)
Signal is Farmers's smartphone-based telematics program. The app tracks speed, hard braking, phone use while driving, time of day driven, total mileage Signal can increase renewal premium for risky driving behavior at renewal, per Farmers program materials summarized by secondary publishers. Not purely a discount-only program.13
- Enrollment discount: 5%13
- Max renewal discount: up to 15% (some publisher sources cite up to 25% including stacked youthful-driver savings)13
- Can it raise your rate? Yes. Risky driving at renewal can push the premium up, not just down. Read Farmers's Signal addendum for your state before enrolling.13
- Not available (or no discount offered) in: CA, FL, HI, NY, SC13
Review the Signal addendum Farmers presents at enrollment before opting in: whether your renewal rate can increase, how phone use is scored (navigation, hands-free, passenger phone use), the data collection and retention terms, and how to opt out are the four questions worth answering for your state before participating.
Pricing
Every Farmers quote is personal. What follows are modeled premiums for defined driver profiles from reputable publisher analyses — not personalized quotes. Use them to calibrate what to expect, not to replace a real quote in your state.
NerdWallet (March 2026): NerdWallet-collected quote data; profiles for male driver, 2022 Toyota Camry, state-minimum full-coverage limits.10
- Full-coverage composite average: $4,007 per year
- 20-year-old driver: $8,420 per year
- 35-year-old with poor credit: $7,614 per year
Publisher national benchmark: $4,712/yr
U.S. News (February 2026): Quadrant Information Services rate data; U.S. News proprietary scoring model.11
- Full-coverage average: $3,435 per year
Publisher national benchmark: $2,508/yr
ValuePenguin (January 2026): Quadrant Information Services data; 30-year-old driver, 100/300/100 liability plus comp/collision $500 deductible (publisher-stated methodology).12
- Minimum coverage: $1,287 per year
- Full coverage: $3,521 per year
How to read these numbers. Different publishers model different profiles and may use different underlying data (Quadrant Information Services is the most common dataset). Your quote depends on your driving record, credit-based insurance score where allowed, vehicle, garaging ZIP, mileage, prior insurance history, age, household composition, telematics participation, and the coverages and deductibles you select.
The consistent signal across publisher rate studies is that Farmers tends to run above national averages for standard profiles. Treat Farmers as service-and-bundle value rather than pure-price value, and check whether Bristol West or Foremost may fit your profile better inside the group.
Claims experience
Farmers offers first-notice-of-loss reporting through the farmers.com portal, the mobile app, and by phone. The 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study scored Farmers at 690, ranking 17th against a study average of 70016. Claims satisfaction varies by region and policy complexity; keep records and know your state Department of Insurance's complaint process if you file.
Customer experience
In the 2025 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study (regional overall satisfaction), Farmers scored 586 in California, 646 in the Central region, and 675 in Florida (ranked second). Farmers ranked below Progressive in 8 of 11 regions15.
Different J.D. Power studies measure different things (shopping, claims, overall satisfaction) and regions. A single best-insurer answer would misrepresent the evidence; the regional data above is where to look if your state is covered by one of the listed regions.
Complaints and regulatory record
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners publishes a complaint index that normalizes complaint counts against a company's share of premium written. A value of 1.0 represents the baseline expected complaint volume for a company of that size; lower is generally better.
Complaint index runs are per-entity per-state. Sample snapshots: Kansas 2024 auto reported a Farmers Insurance Exchange index of 0.54; Indiana 2024 auto reported 4.56 on 1 complaint (low-N caveat). Look up the specific Farmers entity that writes your policy in your state.17
To look up the current complaint index for the specific Farmers underwriting entity that writes policies in your state, use the NAIC Consumer Information Source or your state Department of Insurance. The entities most commonly rated for Farmers are:
- Farmers Insurance Exchange
- Fire Insurance Exchange
- Truck Insurance Exchange
- Mid-Century Insurance Company
- Farmers Insurance Company Inc.
- Illinois Farmers Insurance Company
- Texas Farmers Insurance Company
- Bristol West Insurance Company
- Foremost Insurance Company Grand Rapids Michigan
- 21st Century Insurance Company
Complaint index measures regulator-filed complaints, not overall service quality; treat it as one input among several. Index values vary by underwriting entity and by state and can shift year over year, so pull the current number for your state before signing.
Financial strength
AM Best affirmed Farmers at Financial Strength Rating A (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating a (Excellent); Positive outlook (revised from Stable on Sept 3, 2026) on September 3, 2026 with a stable outlook2. AM Best revised the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating outlook to Positive from Stable on September 3, 2026, while affirming the Financial Strength Rating at A (Excellent). Prior action was an August 2025 affirmation with stable outlooks.
What these ratings mean and do not mean. A high financial-strength rating indicates the insurer has the resources to pay claims under a wide range of adverse scenarios. It is not a guarantee of any specific claim outcome, service quality, or price competitiveness in your quote. Ratings can change; check the affirmation date.
Material news (last 24 months)
Three recent events materially shape a 2026 Farmers decision:
- AM Best revised ICR outlook to Positive from Stable; FSR affirmed at A (September 2026): Signals balance-sheet improvement; FSR itself unchanged at A (Excellent).2
- Vendor-chain data breach disclosed; 1,111,386 policyholders affected via Salesforce compromise (September 2025): Names, addresses, DOB, driver license, and last-4 SSN exposed. 24 months free identity monitoring offered; multiple putative class actions filed (Ozburn, Garabedian).7
- Removed California homeowners new-business cap under Sustainable Insurance Strategy (November 2025): Expands California availability; distinct from the 2023 Florida market reduction.9
- Florida market reduction: Farmers-branded auto, home, and umbrella stopped new issuance (July 2023): Approximately 100,000 policies non-renewed. Bristol West and Foremost continue to write in Florida.8
- Announced plan to add ~1,700 new exclusive agency owners and launch Elite Owner Program (March 2026): Reinforces exclusive-agent distribution model while allowing some hybrid flexibility.6
YesWeSure Fit Check
Is Farmers a fit worth quoting?
Farmers tends to fit if you
- You want a named local exclusive-agent as the default service model and plan to bundle auto with home or life.
- Your risk may fit the group better through Bristol West (non-standard) or Foremost (specialty) than through Farmers-branded auto itself.
- You value a multi-brand group that lets a single agent reroute you internally rather than restarting the shopping process at a competitor.
- You already carry a Farmers life or home policy and want the bundle discount Farmers advertises up to roughly 20%.
Look carefully if you
- You live in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, or the District of Columbia — Farmers-branded auto is not available.
- You live in Florida — Farmers-branded auto has not written new business since July 2023; your Florida quote will route to Bristol West or Foremost (or not route at all).
- You are considering Signal — the program can raise your renewal premium, and no discount is offered in California, Florida, Hawaii, New York, or South Carolina.
- Publisher modeled rates for your profile matter to you: NerdWallet and U.S. News both put Farmers above their national averages for standard profiles.
- You are a data-exposure-sensitive shopper — the September 2025 vendor-chain breach exposed 1.1M policyholders.
This is decision-support reasoning, not personalized advice. Your real decision depends on your quote in your state, current regulator data, and how much of your total budget an incident could disrupt.
Ready to compare Farmers against alternatives?
Compare car insurance quotesCommon questions
Who owns Farmers Insurance?
The Farmers Exchanges (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange) are policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges. Farmers Group, Inc., the attorney-in-fact that manages non-claims operations, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. Zurich does not own the Exchanges themselves.
Can I still buy Farmers auto insurance in Florida?
Farmers-branded auto has not written new business in Florida since July 2023. Sibling brands Bristol West and Foremost continue to write in Florida; a Florida shopper who contacts a Farmers agent will typically be routed to one of those sister brands.
What is Signal and can it raise my premium?
Signal is Farmers smartphone telematics program. It offers 5% at enrollment and up to 15% at renewal, but risky driving at renewal can increase the premium rather than reduce it. Signal does not produce a discount in California, Florida, Hawaii, New York, or South Carolina.
How is Farmers rated by AM Best?
AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating at A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating at a (Excellent) on September 3, 2026. The ICR outlook was revised to Positive from Stable in the same action.
What happened in the 2025 Farmers data breach?
A September 2025 compromise of a Salesforce vendor exposed names, addresses, date of birth, drivers license, and the last four digits of SSN for 1,111,386 Farmers policyholders. Farmers offered 24 months of free identity monitoring; multiple putative class actions have been filed.
Does Farmers write everywhere in the U.S.?
Farmers-branded auto writes in roughly 42 states. It is not available in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, or the District of Columbia. Sibling brands fill some of those gaps.
How does Farmers compare on price?
Publisher modeled-rate studies run above national averages for Farmers: NerdWallet puts the composite full-coverage figure at about $4,007 per year on its profile versus a $4,712 national average; U.S. News puts Farmers at $3,435 against a $2,508 benchmark. Treat Farmers as service-and-bundle value, not pure-price value.
Sources & methodology
- [TIER 1] AM Best: Credit Rating Affirmation for Farmers Insurance Group (Sept 3, 2026) (AM Best)
- [TIER 1] Farmers Corporate: Exchange Update (ownership and corporate structure) (Farmers Insurance)
- [TIER 1] Farmers Corporate: Companies in the Farmers Group (Farmers Insurance)
- [TIER 3] Insurance Journal: Farmers Agency Ownership Expansion and Elite Owner Program (March 2026) (Insurance Journal)
- [TIER 3] Top Class Actions: Farmers 1.1M Policyholder Data Breach via Salesforce (Sept 2025) (Top Class Actions)
- [TIER 3] Insurance Journal: Farmers Market Reduction Notice in Florida (July 2023) (Insurance Journal)
- [TIER 3] Insurance Journal: Farmers Lifts California Homeowners New-Business Cap (Nov 2025) (Insurance Journal)
- [TIER 3] NerdWallet: Farmers Auto Insurance Review 2026 (NerdWallet)
- [TIER 3] U.S. News: Farmers Car Insurance Review for 2026 (U.S. News)
- [TIER 3] ValuePenguin: Farmers Insurance Review and 2026 Rate Study (ValuePenguin)
- [TIER 3] WalletHub: Farmers Signal Telematics Review (WalletHub)
- [TIER 3] WalletHub: Farmers Insurance Discounts (WalletHub)
- [TIER 2] J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Insurance Study (regional segment reporting; aggregated via Insurance.com) (J.D. Power)
- [TIER 2] J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study (J.D. Power)
- [TIER 1] NAIC Consumer Information Source (per-entity complaint and financial lookup) (National Association of Insurance Commissioners)
Evidence hierarchy on this page: Tier 1 (regulators, insurer documentation, rating agencies), Tier 2 (independent authoritative research including J.D. Power and industry datasets), Tier 3 (reputable publishers with transparent methodology). Every material claim traces to a source in this list, with the tier shown next to each source. Modeled rate figures are premiums produced from Quadrant Information Services or publisher proprietary data for defined driver profiles; they are not personalized quotes. Last reviewed .