Why Did My Farmers Insurance Go Up?

Farmers auto customers saw large increases in 2022 and 2023 because the Farmers companies were losing money on underwriting and raised rates across most of the country to close the gap. In 2023, Farmers' combined statutory results showed an underwriting loss of $1,284.5 million, and the company said "rate actions" were the main reason its premiums grew ¹. Industry data reported by Insurance Journal put Farmers' 2023 private auto rate increases at a weighted average of 17.6%, with double-digit increases in 43 states ².

The picture in 2026 is calmer. The 2026 filings by Farmers Casualty Insurance Company, Farmers Insurance Company, Inc., Mid-Century Insurance Company and Bristol West Insurance Company in Oklahoma's state report show average changes of zero or small decreases ⁶. A published rate change is an average across a company's existing policyholders, not a forecast for any one renewal, so if your own Farmers bill rose recently, a change on your policy may matter as much as any company-wide filing. Below is what Farmers' own reports and state records show. We are not affiliated with the insurers named.

Farmers is not one company. Farmers Insurance Exchange is the lead company of a group of affiliated insurers, including Mid-Century Insurance Company, Truck Insurance Exchange and dozens of others, and Farmers Insurance Exchange and certain of those companies share results through an intercompany reinsurance agreement ¹. Their combined 2023 report says the group operates in all 50 states, with California, Texas and Florida accounting for over 45% of its direct premiums written, and that gross written premiums were $27.4 billion in 2023 across about 13.9 million policies ¹.

That report shows two years of losses. The group's underwriting loss was $1,196.9 million in 2022 and $1,284.5 million in 2023, with combined ratios of 106.2% and 106.3% ¹. A combined ratio above 100% means the companies paid more in claims and expenses than they earned in premium. Farmers said the 2023 loss was "primarily driven by Home, Auto, and Specialty books of business" ¹. These figures cover all lines of insurance, not auto alone.

Farmers' response was price. The 2023 report says "rate actions were the primary growth driver" of gross written premiums, and that net premiums earned rose 4.2%, "primarily attributable to the rate actions" ¹. It describes ongoing rate changes and "non-rate underwriting actions" aimed at "adverse underwriting trends," including monitoring reinstatements and mileage driven and restricting non-good drivers ¹.

Insurance Journal, citing S&P Global Market Intelligence's RateWatch data, reported that Farmers "instituted double-digit rate increases in 43 states in 2023 for a weighted average rate increase of 17.6%" ². Autobody News, citing the same data, reported that this was about 3 points higher than Farmers' 14.5% rate change in 2022 ³. These are weighted averages drawn from rate filings that had reached a final decision (disposed filings), not the change on any one policy ³.

California's Department of Insurance reviews auto rate applications before they take effect, and its records show the size of the Farmers requests. On March 10, 2023, Farmers Insurance Exchange, Mid-Century Insurance Company and Truck Insurance Exchange filed rate applications seeking overall increases to their "personal passenger auto line" for three occupation-based groups of 29.95%, 29.99% and 29.99% ⁴. After the consumer group Consumer Watchdog intervened, the companies, Consumer Watchdog and the department entered into a settlement stipulation agreeing to these overall increases, implemented for policies effective September 26, 2023 ⁴:

The stipulation ties the new rates to the Commissioner's approvals in SERFF, the filing system ⁴. Consumer Watchdog's later petition says the increases were approved on August 10, 2023 ⁵.

Farmers came back quickly. According to that petition, on or about September 27, 2023 the same three companies filed for an overall 7% increase, about $204 million, to their auto line, with a proposed effective date of January 27, 2024 ⁵. We could not find a published final outcome for that request, so we do not report one.

Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Insurance Department's rate change report for January through August 2026 lists, among others, these filings by Farmers companies ⁶:

Bristol West Insurance Company is one of the affiliated insurers listed in Farmers' combined report ¹. An overall impact of 0.000% means the filing did not change the company's average rate, though a filing may still move individual prices up or down through changes in rating factors.

California. In a May 11, 2026 release about its new California homeowners rating plan, Farmers said that effective July 1 it would introduce a new auto insurance rating plan with additional discounts ⁷. The release did not give an average rate change for the auto plan ⁷.

If the company averages are flat, the likeliest causes of a higher renewal are on your own policy:

• A claim or an at-fault accident, which may add a surcharge or remove a safe-driving discount.
• Tickets and violations on any listed driver. See how tickets and accidents affect car insurance.
• A new car or driver, especially a teen driver. See adding a teen driver.
• A move to a ZIP code with more claims.
• A lost discount, for example when a bundled policy ends. Our guide on why discounts disappear at renewal covers the common cases.
• A new rating plan or occupation group. As the California records show, Farmers prices some groups of customers under separate programs with different rate changes, so two Farmers customers can see different renewals in the same year ⁴.

Repair and injury costs also matter across the industry; our page on how repair costs push car insurance up explains why.

1. Compare the new declarations page with the old one. Check drivers, vehicles, coverages, deductibles and discounts. Our guide to reading a renewal notice shows what to look for.
2. Ask your Farmers agent which factors changed and whether any discount dropped off.
3. Find the legal company on your policy. Farmers sells through many companies, including Farmers Insurance Exchange, Mid-Century Insurance Company and Farmers Casualty Insurance Company, and each files its own rates. Your state insurance department can tell you what that company filed. Our explainer on rate filings covers how to read one.
4. Compare quotes from several insurers before the renewal date. You can compare quotes here.
5. Contact your state insurance department with questions about how your policy was rated.

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For causes that apply at any insurer, see why car insurance goes up. For the national direction of prices, see whether car insurance rates are going down. State detail is on the California and Texas pages. For another large insurer's California filings, see why State Farm insurance goes up.

• ¹ Reported: Farmers Insurance Exchange's combined management's discussion and analysis for 2023, for the group structure, premium and policy totals, the 2022 and 2023 underwriting losses and combined ratios, the 4.2% earned premium increase and the stated role of rate actions, checked October 13, 2026.
• ² Reported: Insurance Journal, citing S&P Global Market Intelligence's RateWatch, for Farmers' 17.6% weighted average private auto rate increase in 2023, with double-digit increases in 43 states, checked October 13, 2026.
• ³ Reported: Autobody News, citing the same S&P data, for Farmers' 14.5% rate change in 2022 and the basis of the data in disposed rate filings, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁴ Official record: California Department of Insurance settlement stipulation in file PA-2023-00008, for the filing companies, the requested and stipulated increases by program and the September 26, 2023 effective date, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁵ Reported: Consumer Watchdog's petition in the September 2023 Farmers auto rate applications, posted by the California Department of Insurance, for the August 10, 2023 approval date and the 7% ($204 million) request, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁶ Official record: Oklahoma Insurance Department SERFF rate change report for private passenger auto, January to August 2026, for the Farmers, Mid-Century and Bristol West filings, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁷ Reported: Farmers' May 11, 2026 release, for the July 1 California auto rating plan, checked October 13, 2026.