State Farm

Steve Vogel made a career out of telling other people's stories. Now he's telling his.

In an email obtained by WGLT, the insurer says "if and when" changes are needed, the company will start with voluntary staff reductions whenever possible, but did not rule out the possibility of layoffs.

Insurance companies operating in Illinois have a transparency problem with state regulators and consumers, four top state officials alleged Wednesday.

Abe Scarr, Illinois Public Interest Research Group state director, said the massive increase will “impact countless families across the state," as 1.5 million State Farm policyholders will be impacted by the near half-billion rate hike — a 27% increase.

The head of Illinois’ insurance industry trade group said Tuesday that Gov. JB Pritzker’s attacks on State Farm were “unfortunate” and likely part of a push to give state regulators new power to reject rate increases.

State Farm said Friday that Gov. JB Pritzker’s attacks on its 27% homeowners’ insurance rate increase are “factually incorrect” political rhetoric.

Gov. JB Pritzker took the rare step Thursday of attacking one of Illinois’ largest employers — State Farm — over its plans to increase homeowners’ insurance rates by 27%.

The average corn yield last year in McLean County was nearly 247 bushels per acre. That's enough to blow the minds of the grandfathers of today's farmers. Agriculture has changed nearly beyond recognition in less than a century.

The investigation comes after California regulators approved State Farm’s request to raise premiums on an emergency interim basis. State Farm said the wildfires put the insurer in financial distress as it expected to pay $7 billion in claims related to the fires.

At State Farm’s Technological Research and Innovation Lab, researchers are not only working on how to best protect policy holders, but also on how they can help to create the best products in housing materials.