The lawsuit was filed on October 14 on behalf of Illinois Department of Insurance Director Ann Gillespie, following an investigation that began in 2024. (Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced he has filed suit against State Farm for allegedly failing to comply with a regulatory examination into its nationwide homeowners business. Named defendants in the suit include State Farm Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm General Insurance Company and Oglesby Reinsurance Company.
The lawsuit was filed on October 14 on behalf of Illinois Department of Insurance Director Ann Gillespie, following an investigation that began in 2024.
The AG’s office reports that in November 2024, the Illinois DOI opened an investigation into State Farm’s homeowners insurance policies and premiums; noting that State Farm is the largest homeowners insurer in the country and has increased rates in recent years.
The lawsuit alleges the following, in part:
“In 2024, its [State Farm] written homeowners premiums rose by over 16 percent nationwide, the largest yearly increase since 2002. In July 2025, it implemented a 27 percent rate increase on its millions of policyholders in Illinois. A complete understanding of the affordability crisis in homeowners insurance requires comprehensive data on the financial condition of State Farm, the market and nonfinancial practices of State Farm, and the enterprise risks faced by State Farm. In order to assess these aspects of State Farm’s business, the Director and the Department require complete data from State Farm at the zip-code level as to policies that it writes to insure homes across the country.
“The Director accordingly initiated an examination of State Farm to obtain those data in November 2024, but State Farm has spurned the examination, flouting its legal obligations under multiple provisions of the Illinois Insurance Code. Specifically, State Farm has (1) refused to produce data available in Illinois on the basis that those data reveal information about policies for homes located outside of Illinois and (2) objected to production of the data based on purported concerns that the Director will violate confidentiality protections found in the very Insurance Code that the Director herself administers.”
The filing argues that State Farm’s refusal to provide this data to the DOI has “no basis in law” and “harms the public interest by preventing the Director from learning important information for assessing the challenges that plague this insurance market critically important to Illinoisians and all Americans.”
Since State Farm is based in Bloomington, Illinois, the Illinois DOI holds primary oversight of the company. Attorney General Raoul has asked the court to order State Farm to comply with the examination and provide the requested data to the DOI.
“State Farm’s obstruction does not just violate the law. It prevents the Department of Insurance from obtaining information to help make sure all Illinois homeowners are being treated fairly,” Raoul said in a release. “State insurance departments are the primary regulators of insurance companies, so it is crucially important that State Farm, headquartered in Illinois, cooperate with the department’s oversight of its business practices.”
In response to the lawsuit, State Farm created a dedicated webpage to explain its position on the “Issues in Illinois.”
The company maintains it did not violate Illinois law and that Raoul’s lawsuit is without merit. State Farm’s statement emphasized that it remains committed to collaborating with the Illinois DOI to benefit Illinois customers.
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