George J. Mecherle

Last updated
George J. Mecherle
George J. Mecherle.gif
Born(1877-06-07)June 7, 1877
DiedMarch 10, 1951(1951-03-10) (aged 73)
Occupation(s) farmer, insurance agent
Known forfounder of State Farm Insurance
Spouses
May Edith Perry Mecherle
(m. 19001942)
(her death)
Sylvia Mae Harbaugh Mecherle
(m. 19441951)
(his death)

George Jacob "G.J." Mecherle [1] (pronounced "Ma-herl") (June 7, 1877 - March 10, 1951) was the founder of State Farm, headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. Mecherle, a farmer who became an insurance agent also, founded State Farm after becoming dissatisfied with the insurance rates charged to farmers, as those rates included the risks of city drivers as well.

Mecherle was known as a very progressive and scientific farmer. However, in 1919 he quit farming and moved to Florida to improve his wife's health — she had rheumatoid arthritis. The warm climate did not improve her health so they moved back to Central Illinois in 1921.

After returning to Illinois he had sold tractors for a while and discovered that he had a real knack for selling to farmers. Believing that city insurance companies were "rooking" farmers with high premiums based upon city driving accident rates, he became obsessed with the idea of starting his own insurance company — "an honest insurance company" was the phrase Mecherle used.

In the spring of 1921, Tazewell County Farm Bureau organized a township mutual insurance company — which was the idea Mecherle had been considering — a mutual insurance company which is owned by those who are insured through a membership. The Tazewell company was set up to insure property, including automobiles.

Mecherle then attended a meeting of the Federation of Mutual Fire Insurance Companies in the summer of 1921 in St. Louis. He spoke with Tazewell County Farm Bureau president and those discussions helped to crystallize Mecherle's idea of starting "an honest insurance company."

Eventually, Mecherle's idea began taking shape and he opened his first office late in 1921 in The Illinois House in downtown Bloomington.

In January 1922, he developed a prospectus and presented it to the Illinois State Association of Mutual Insurance Companies meeting in Streator. The plan called for his company to sell automobile insurance to:

members of Farm Bureau, members of farm mutuals, their immediate families, or those eligible for membership in such organizations.

The association enthusiastically endorsed the plan, and Mecherle proceeded to get the state license he needed to operate. On June 8, 1922, — the day after George Mecherle's 45th birthday — State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company was in business.

Mecherle attempted to adopt programs that gave financial strength to his growing company while providing unique benefits to policyholders beyond what was offered at the time.

For example, he adopted a strict no-drinking and driving provision to reduce accidents, and he also instituted the first installment payment program for premiums. This was to allow farmers premiums to become due when they expected to receive their crop payments.

Eventually, his company became the largest property and casualty insurer in the United States and one of the 20 largest corporations on the Fortune 500.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurance</span> Equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another in exchange for payment

Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLean County, Illinois</span> County in Illinois, United States

McLean County is the largest county by land area in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 Census, it had a population of 170,954. Its county seat is Bloomington. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloomington, Illinois</span> City in Illinois, United States

Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. The 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the 13th-most populous city in Illinois and the fifth-most populous outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, which has a population of roughly 170,000. Bloomington is 135 miles (217 km) southwest of Chicago and 162 miles (261 km) northeast of St. Louis. Bloomington is home to Illinois Wesleyan University and the headquarters for State Farm and Country Financial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life insurance</span> Type of contract

Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of an insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness can also trigger payment. The policyholder typically pays a premium, either regularly or as one lump sum. The benefits may include other expenses, such as funeral expenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Farm Bureau Federation</span> Lobbying group in the United States

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), more informally called the American Farm Bureau (AFB) or simply the Farm Bureau, is a United States-based 501(c)(5) tax-exempt agricultural organization and lobbying group. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Farm Bureau has affiliates in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Each affiliate is a (state or county) Farm Bureau, and the parent organization is also often called simply the Farm Bureau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vehicle insurance</span> Insurance for road vehicles

Vehicle insurance is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise from incidents in a vehicle. Vehicle insurance may additionally offer financial protection against theft of the vehicle, and against damage to the vehicle sustained from events other than traffic collisions, such as keying, weather or natural disasters, and damage sustained by colliding with stationary objects. The specific terms of vehicle insurance vary with legal regulations in each region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive Corporation</span> American insurance company

The Progressive Corporation is an American insurance company. In late 2022, Progressive became the largest motor insurance carrier in the U.S. The company was co-founded in 1937 by Jack Green and Joseph M. Lewis, and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio. The company insures passenger vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, trailers, boats, PWC, and commercial vehicles. Progressive also provides home, life, pet, and other insurance through select companies. Additionally, Progressive offers auto insurance in Australia.

State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property, casualty, and auto insurance provider in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company</span> Group of large insurance and financial services companies in the United States

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, commonly shortened to Nationwide, is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona and Des Moines, Iowa. Nationwide currently has approximately 25,000 employees, and is ranked No. 83 in the 2023 Fortune 500 list. Nationwide is currently ranked No. 21 in Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For".

Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the most common schemes include premium diversion, fee churning, asset diversion, and workers compensation fraud. Perpetrators in the schemes can be insurance company employees or claimants. False insurance claims are insurance claims filed with the fraudulent intention towards an insurance provider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Family Insurance</span> American private mutual company

American Family Insurance, also abbreviated as AmFam, is an American private mutual company that focuses on property, casualty, and auto insurance, and also offers commercial insurance, life, health, and homeowners coverage as well as investment and retirement-planning products. It is a Fortune 500 company and its revenues were over $9.5 billion in 2017.

Edward Barry Rust Jr. was chairman of the board of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Bloomington, Illinois. He is a former President and Chief Executive Officer of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, State Farm Life Insurance Company and other principal State Farm affiliates. Ed Rust stepped down on September 1, 2015; when Michael Tipsord was named the new President and CEO of State Farm Insurance. Ed Rust's father Edward Sr. and his grandfather Adlai Rust before him also led State Farm.

A reciprocal inter-insurance exchange or simply a reciprocal in the United States is an unincorporated association in which subscribers exchange insurance policies to pool and spread risk. For consumers, reciprocal exchanges often offer similar policies to those offered by a stock company or a mutual insurance company. Notable reciprocal exchanges are managed by USAA, Farmers, and Erie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NFU Mutual</span> British mutual insurance company

NFU Mutual is a UK insurance composite. As a mutual, its policyholder members own the business, and the executives and directors are accountable to them. The full name of the organisation is National Farmers' Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Farm Bureau</span>

The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) is a nonprofit U.S. organization controlled by farmers who join the IFB through one of the 96 county Farm Bureaus in Illinois. The organization's legal name is the Illinois Agricultural Association. The IFB was founded in 1916 by a group of farmers who met at the University of Illinois to discuss the need for agricultural education, better information for farmers, and more effective farming practices. Modernly, the IFB represents two out of three Illinois farmers.

Country Financial is a group of US insurance and financial services companies with customers in 19 states. The group of companies offers a range of insurance and financial products and services, including auto, home, life, farm, commercial insurance, retirement planning, investment management and trust services.

GuideOne Insurance is a niche-market insurer based in West Des Moines, Iowa, and is one of the largest church insurers in the United States. The company is licensed in all 50 states. As of year-end 2021, the company reached $1.06B in written premium.

Vehicle insurance in the United States is designed to cover the risk of financial liability or the loss of a motor vehicle that the owner may face if their vehicle is involved in a collision that results in property or physical damage. Most states require a motor vehicle owner to carry some minimum level of liability insurance. States that do not require the vehicle owner to carry car insurance include Virginia, where an uninsured motor vehicle fee may be paid to the state, New Hampshire, and Mississippi, which offers vehicle owners the option to post cash bonds. The privileges and immunities clause of Article IV of the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of citizens in each respective state when traveling to another. A motor vehicle owner typically pays insurers a monthly or yearly fee, often called an insurance premium. The insurance premium a motor vehicle owner pays is usually determined by a variety of factors including the type of covered vehicle, marital status, credit score, whether the driver rents or owns a home, the age and gender of any covered drivers, their driving history, and the location where the vehicle is primarily driven and stored. Most insurance companies will increase insurance premium rates based on these factors, and less frequently, offer discounts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Farm Downtown Building</span> United States historic place

The State Farm Downtown Building, variously known as the State Farm Insurance Building or the State Farm Fire Building, is an Art Deco building in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. It served as the corporate headquarters for State Farm Insurance from its construction until 1974.

Ohio Mutual Insurance Group is a group of property and casualty insurance companies based in Bucyrus, Ohio. The group is composed of three affiliates: Ohio Mutual Insurance Company, United Ohio Insurance Company and Casco Indemnity Company. As a mutual insurance company, Ohio Mutual Insurance Group is not a stock company but one that is mutually owned by its policyholders. A board of directors and an appointed president and chief executive officer manage the company.

References

  1. "State Farm Story". State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company . Retrieved 2008-08-31.

Further reading