State Farm CEO Jon Farney is pressing Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to block legislation that would give the state power to judge whether homeowners insurance rates run too high. The exchange has turned pointed, and public.
Farney wrote to the governor last week urging him to oppose House Bill 3799. The bill would allow the Illinois Department of Insurance to order rebates when it finds rates unfair to consumers.
Pritzker replied two days later, saying State Farm’s objections rested on factual errors.
Farney argued Illinois already operates the most competitive homeowners insurance market in the country. He said average annual premiums sit around $1,143, below the national mean.
In his telling, competition keeps prices down without heavy-handed oversight.
At the same time, he said losses tied to severe weather are climbing fast. Repair and replacement costs rose alongside inflation. Risk moved up. Rates followed.
State Farm raised homeowners premiums by an average 27% last summer. Farney pointed out the company also cut auto rates by roughly 10% over the past eight months.
He said the pending bill threatens predictability and market stability, warning it would upend what he called a healthy system.
Pritzker pushed back hard. He said the insurance department lacks real authority under current law. When regulators object to a rate filing, he said, the objection gets logged with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and stops there.
Pritzker said the bill changes that. If rates exceed reasonable bounds, the department would gain power to review, determine overcharges, and order reimbursement.
He said the proposal stays lighter than frameworks in Republican-led Texas, where State Farm operates a growing hub near Dallas.
Unlike Texas, he added, insurers wouldn’t need prior approval before releasing rates. Oversight would kick in after the fact. If pricing stays market-based, he said, carriers face no issue.
State Farm responded Monday with a public statement. The company said it wants to offer the lowest possible prices while helping customers recover from losses.
It said it reached out to discuss legislation it believes harms that goal and expressed frustration at what it described as a refusal to engage.
“State Farm takes our responsibility to help people recover seriously. We want to offer the best product at the lowest possible price to customers in Illinois. We reached out to Governor Pritzker to discuss legislation that we believe could damage our ability to do that. It’s disappointing he refuses to have a conversation. We remain focused on serving the millions of State Farm customers in Illinois and will continue working with legislators to find the best solutions.”
The company said it will keep working with lawmakers while continuing to serve its Illinois customers. The fight over HB 3799, though, shows no sign of cooling.
