Mountain West Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., a Wyoming-based personal lines carrier, will be merged into Idaho Farm Bureau’s parent company under an agreement approved by the boards of directors of both insurers.
Farm Bureau Insurance of Idaho said Mountain West will be converted into a stock insurance company wholly owned by IFB Mutual Insurance Holding Co. and will continue operating under its existing brand in current states. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in about four months.
Mountain West Insurance Group is the top farmowners’ writer in Wyoming, third-largest homeowners writer, and fourth-largest automobile insurer in the state. It also ranks as the second-largest farmowners’ writer in Montana, according to BestLink. The combined entity will have more than 130,000 members and generate more than $800 million in annualized premium across five states: Idaho, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.
Farm Bureau of Idaho Group is the largest farmowners’ and fourth-largest personal auto writer in its home state, BestLink noted.
Todd Argall, chief executive officer of IFB Mutual Insurance and Farm Bureau Insurance, said the transaction positions both companies for sustainable growth.
“Together we are stronger and better prepared to serve our members today and into the future,” Argall said in a statement, as quoted by Best Wire. He added the merger will create efficiencies while maintaining a “strong capital position.”
Mountain West Farm Bureau president and CEO Jim Geesey said the move reflects a longstanding cooperative tradition among Farm Bureau companies.
Mountain West held significant market share in Wyoming in 2024. It wrote 40.85% of the farmowners’ multiperil market, 11.26% of the homeowners’ market, and 9.79% of the auto market, according to BestLink.
In Idaho, Farm Bureau of Idaho Group controlled 46.81% of the farmowners’ market and 9.55% of the auto market.
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