The State Farm Story

State Farm® has been serving Canadians since 1938, when it expanded into Ontario. State Farm currently operates in Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick only, providing insurance and financial services through our State Farm agents. State Farm is presently the fourth largest auto insurer, and seventh largest property and casualty insurer in Canada*. The Canadian Head Office is located in Aurora, Ontario (north of Toronto) with 500 agents and over 1,500 employees serving Canadian customers.

The State Farm® Story

At age 22, George J. Mecherle (pronounced Ma-herl) started farming his own land near Bloomington, Ill. In 1901 he married Edith Mae Perry who joined him on his farm. Within a few years, he was one of the leading farmers in the area.

After they had farmed for 20 years, Mrs. Mecherle's health began to fail and the couple decided to move to Bloomington. Unable to sit still, George Mecherle accepted a job selling insurance for a small company. He was successful as a salesman, but he didn't feel the rates or the business practices of the company suited the needs of farmers.

When he suggested a better way to sell insurance, his employer laughed and said, "If you think you've got such a good idea, why don't you start your own company?" So he did.

Mecherle believed that farmers should pay less for insurance because they drove less and had fewer losses than folks living in cities. Using this idea, he started State Farm in 1922 as a mutual automobile insurance company owned by its policyholders.

In 1937, general insurance agent Bob Patterson from Toronto, Ontario, contacted State Farm founder G.J. Mecherle about the possibilities of expanding the State Farm brand north of the 49th parallel. Mecherle invited Patterson to the January 1938 Agency Convention in Chicago, Illinois to discuss matters further.

In a matter of months, State Farm opened an office in Toronto; it's first outside the United States. Quite the feat considering the company had yet to expand to all 50 U.S. states.

On April 19, 1938, State Farm offered auto insurance for the first time in Canada. Life and fire insurance followed on January 1, 1954.

State Farm currently provides insurance and financial services through our agents in Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick. The Canadian Head Office is located in Aurora, Ontario (north of Toronto) with more than 500 agents and over 1,500 employees serving Canadian customers.