Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. was named among the prestigious 2018 Property-Casualty Ward’s 50 Companies.

The list is compiled by Ward Group, a consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry and a leading provider of industry benchmarking.

“To be named one of the 50 top P&C companies in the country is a tremendous honor,” said Darlene Wells, VFBMIC executive vice president and general manager. “It is a privilege to work for an organization that strives for and delivers excellent results. It is a testament of employees’ fortitude, focus and discipline on growing our company in a healthy, financially responsible manner that gives us a stronger financial position to grow and better serve our policyholders for the long term.”

Each year, Ward Group analyzes the financial performance of nearly 3,000 property and casualty insurance companies in the United States and identifies the top performers. Each company named to Ward’s Top 50 has passed all safety and consistency screens and achieved superior performance over the five years it was analyzed. VFBMIC also was among the Ward’s 50 in 2009 and 2010.

The Ward’s 50 property-casualty group of insurance companies produced an 11.4 percent statutory return on average equity from 2013 to 2017, compared to 8.1 percent for the property-casualty industry overall.

“In selecting the Ward’s 50, we identified companies that pass financial stability requirements and measure their ability to grow while maintaining strong capital positions and underwriting results,” said Jeff Rieder, partner and head of Ward benchmarking at Aon, a leading global professional services firm. The Ward’s 50 benchmark group also continues to achieve lower expense ratios.

Founded in 1950, Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. is committed to meeting the insurance needs of the families, farms and small businesses of Virginia. VFBMIC auto, home, health and life insurance customers are members of the 88 county Farm Bureaus that make up the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, Virginia’s largest farmers’ advocacy group. Farm Bureau is committed to supporting Virginia’s agriculture industry and preserving the Virginia way of life.