State Farm Reports 2014 Underwriting Loss, Operating Profit

State Farm reported an underwriting loss in 2014, though investment and other income still helped leave it with an operating profit.

The insurer’s combined property/casualty underwriting loss landed at $939 million, or 1.7 percent of nearly $57 billion of earned premium. In 2013, State Farm reported a $230 million underwriting gain and $54.5 billion in earned premium.

State Farm’s net income for 2014 reached $4.2 billion, with total revenue (including premium revenue, earned investment income and realized capital gains) hitting $71.2 billion for the year. That reflects a moderate decline over 2013, when State Farm produced $5.2 billion in net income on $68.3 billion of total revenue.

Additional State Farm results:

• Auto insurance, which reflects 62 percent of State Farm’s P/C companies’ combined net written premium, produced $35.3 billion in earned premium for 2014. That’s 5.6 percent higher than in 2013, in which the business booked $33.4 billion in earned premium. Underwriting losses reached $3.4 billion for the year, versus $2.4 billion in underwriting losses for 2013.
• State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., State Farm Lloyd’s, State Farm General Insurance Co. and State Farm Florida Insurance Co. produce 35 percent of the p/c companies’ combined net premium. That came down to $19.8 billion in earned premium for 2014, up 4.2 percent from 2013, when earned premium was booked at $10 billion. Underwriting gains for 2014 were listed at $1.9 billion, versus $2.1 billion in 2013.