PC360 readers know that some of the best advertisements on television, radio and online are byinsurers. To keep the masses entertained and entice new customers,insurers spend a lot of money each year on advertising.

SNL Financial recently released a list of the top property andcasualty insurance advertisers in 2011. SNL gathered data reportedfor advertising by all P&C subsidiaries and aggregates thisdata for all companies with a common ultimate parent. The chart released by SNL lists all insurers that spent over$50 million on advertising in 2011.

Not surprisingly, the list generally comprises large personallines writers since television ads target individual consumers.Because of this, SNL also included premium for personal auto andhomeowners for comparison.

Click “next” to see the top 10 spenders in 2011.

10. AIG

2011 advertising spend: $124.7 million

Personal lines direct premium written ($M): 2,087.5

Year-over-year advertising growth: 5.68%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 5.98%

AIG sponsored the Manchester United soccer club up until 2010.Though the company no longer sponsor the team, AIG still managedrank as the number 10 top spender on insurance advertising.

9. Travelers

2011 spend: $166.5 million

Premium written ($M): 7,133.3

Year-over-year advertising growth: 28.86%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 2.33%

Travelers is ranked as the number nine top spender onadvertising. PC360 readers ranked the insurer's popular Travelers Dog commercials number three in our Best InsuranceCommercials poll.

8. American Family Mutual

2011 spend: $167.3 million

Premium written ($M): 4,669.2

Year-over-year advertising growth: 53.88%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 3.58%

American Family Mutual spent $167.3 million on advertising in2011, nearly 54 percent more year-over-year, helping the companysnag the number eight spot on SNL financial's list.

7. Nationwide

2011 spend: $277.3 million

Premium written ($M): 10,140.7

Year-over-year advertising growth: 1.04%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 2.73%

Nationwide has really invested in its World's Greatest Spokesperson in the World advertisingcampaign, gaining the number seven ranking on SNL's list. Inaddition, the company sponsors the Nationwide Arena and theNationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus as well as sportstournaments like the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the PGA TourMemorial Tournament.

6. Liberty Mutual

2011 spend: $332.5 million

Premium written ($M): 11,857.9

Year-over-year advertising growth: 16.72%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 2.8%

Liberty Mutual, known for its feel-good television commercials, ranked number six, havingspent $332.5 million on advertising in 2011.

5. Farmers

2011 spend: $464.2 million

Premium written ($M): 14,615.7

Year-over-year advertising growth: 29.69%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 3.18%

Farmers ramped up its presence in the insurance ad war onmultiple fronts. In addition to the television campaign featuring actor J.K. Simmons, Farmers alsopurchased the naming rights to Farmers Field in Los Angeles for$700 million, payable over 30 years. Completion of the $1 billionstadium and convention center complex is expected by 2016. Farmers'elevated profile comes at a time when the company is in danger oflosing market share.

4. Progressive

2011 spend: $536.1 million

Premium written ($M): 13,453.4

Year-over-year advertising growth: 9.02%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 3.99%

Coming in at number four is Progressive, which is known for itscommercials featuring cashier Flo.

3. Allstate

2011 spend: $745.3 million

Premium written ($M): 24,423.8

Year-over-year advertising growth: 11.76%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 3.05%

Allstate is known for its popular “Mayhem” commercials and Sugar Bowl sponsorship, but apurchase in 2011 drove the insurer to becoming third largestspender on the list.

Looking to make inroads into the direct market, Allstatepurchased Esurance in 2011 and starting in December, began anaggressive re-branding of Esurance that included a television andradio ad campaign featuring actor John Krasinski of “The Office”and the Grammy Award-winning song “Jam Man” from guitarist ChetAtkins.

(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America)

2. State Farm

2011 spend: $813.5 million

Premium written ($M): 47,576.2

Year-over-year advertising growth: 29.16%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 1.71%

The second-largest spender on advertising is State Farm. Thecompany runs a number of television ads and sponsors many sportstournaments, including the LPGA State Farm Classic golf tournament.Some of State Farm's most popular television ads include itsState of Unrest and State of Regret commercials.

(AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

1. GEICO

2011 spend: $993.8 million

Premium written ($M): 15,264.4

Year-over-year advertising growth: 10.09%

Ratio of advertising to premium: 6.51%

GEICO spent 22 percent more on advertising than thesecond-largest spender State Farm—even though State Farm's adspending grew at nearly three times the rate GEICO's did.

SNL found that GEICO's ad budget represented 6.5 percent of thepremiums it wrote in 2011. Among the rest of the five largest autoinsurers in the country, none spent more than 4.9 percent ofpremiums on ads.

Over the last 20 years, GEICO's share of the market has roughlyquadrupled, for which the advertising program usually gets much ofthe credit. Among U.S. auto insurers, GEICO has a market share ofabout 8.5 percent, third behind Allstate's 10.2 percent and StateFarm's 18.7 percent, according to the Insurance InformationInstitute.