#2,728 - State Farm warns of ‘dire’ financial situation in California, asks for ‘emergency’ rate hike

State Farm’s decision to pull its 2025 Super Bowl ad was prompted by the wildfires that continue to impact the Los Angeles area. With the company’s absence from the Big Game, no insurance firm is slated to appear in this year’s live telecast. Not having ads with Jake from State Farm, Flo from Progressive or the Geico Gecko during the game might seem unusual, but it reflects an ongoing trend of declining ad spend from the biggest insurers in the U.S. Advertising spend from the insurance industry has cratered in recent years as underwriting costs skyrocketed. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence data for 2023 (the most recent full-year numbers available), Progressive, the largest spender in the category, was down 30% to $1.22 billion. Geico slashed its ad budget by 34% year-over-year to $838.2 million. Allstate cut its budget by 31% to $651.3 million.