State Farm News and Happenings.

What do you think -- is this company going to survive and thrive? Are they looking to expand their staff, or do you think layoffs are inevitable?

How does State Farm stack up against the competition?

State Farm is definitely not thriving, but also not languishing. They are hurting from competetion from Progressive and Geico and their bloated expenses, but it is one of the few companies who can and has survived multi-billion dollar losses. They are, in genereal, not expanding. You can certainly find hot skills in demand which they will fill positions for, but they are trying to keep staffing level, generally through natural attrition.
State Farm is probably one of the better insurance companies to work for. It is strongly position with great political connections. It will be hard to take this behemoth down.

I applied with State Farm until someone from Allstate took the job away from me.

State Farm will survive external pressures, but the biggest problems are internal. The technological structure is outdated, many processes are outdated and inefficient, and
Management is sorely out-of-touch with employees outside immediate spheres of influence.

When I worked at State Farm they were practically in panic mode when it comes to this topic because the writing was on the wall. Competitors (especially Geico, Progressive, and Allstate) were making huge inroads with people under 50. Although I haven't worked there for a few years my contacts seem to indicate that this has calmed down but the company is maintaining as opposed to growing. Just think about it... when was the last time you knew someone UNDER 50 that carried state farm insurance? The only people I know who have it are my parents who are in their seventies. Why would a young person pay their ridiculously high premiums? To support their bureaucracy? Give me a break. Interestingly, as much as they worried about it they still did not have the will to change.