State Farm announced it will not air a commercial during the February 9 Super Bowl as it focuses on assisting customers affected by the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles.
A spokesperson for the company said the decision aligns with its commitment to supporting impacted communities.
“Our focus is firmly on providing support to the people of Los Angeles. We will not be advertising during the game as originally planned,” the spokesperson said.
State Farm, which serves over eight million customers in California, emphasized the deployment of its catastrophe response teams to aid recovery efforts, as per a report from Best Wire.
The Super Bowl, known for its high-profile advertising, has often been a platform for State Farm. In 2024, the company aired a commercial featuring actor Arnold Schwarzenegger as "Agent State Farm".
However, this year it claims to be focusing on wildfire recovery. As of January 16, State Farm reported it had processed more than 7,850 home and automobile claims and paid out over $50 million related to the fires. The company anticipates these numbers will rise as residents return to assess damages. Customer contact currently stands at 90%, the spokesperson noted.
The Palisades and Eaton fires have been identified as the most destructive of the wildfires that began spreading across Los Angeles on January 7. According to Aon, aggregated losses from the two fires are expected to reach the lower tens of billions of dollars, encompassing damages covered by both private insurers and California's state-funded FAIR Plan.
Year-over-year, policies issued by the California FAIR Plan in the Pacific Palisades area have surged by 85%, increasing to 1,430 policies in the 90272 ZIP code, an area severely impacted by the fires.
The FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, had $377 million available to pay claims as of last week, according to the California Department of Insurance. The plan also benefits from a reinsurance tower, but losses exceeding available resources could result in special assessments on private insurers operating in the state.
State Farm’s decision to forego Super Bowl advertising comes as insurers across the region face mounting claims and rising costs associated with California wildfires. Allstate Corp. has also announced it will not advertise during the event.
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