Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. to acquire Countryway Insurance Co.

1/6/11

Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., based in Richmond, Va., is expected to acquire in early 2011 the Countryway Insurance Co., a property and casualty insurance company based in Syracuse, N.Y.

Countryway offers farm, home and auto insurance products in 10 states through more than 380 independent agencies. VFB Insurance has agreed to purchase 100 percent of Countryway’s stock from United Farm Family Mutual Insurance Co., doing business as Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance.

The transaction is subject to New York Insurance Department approval.

"This is an exciting opportunity for the Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co.," said Executive Vice President and General Manager Bill Anderson. "The product similarities—farm, personal auto and home—provide strong synergies that should prove beneficial to both companies.

"We look forward to expanding upon Countryway’s tradition of providing quality products and services through the independent agent distribution system," Anderson added.

"We could not be more pleased that Countryway will be acquired by Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., another member of the Farm Bureau family of companies," said J. Jerry Canada, Executive Vice President and CEO of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Co. "I’d like to thank Countryway’s employees for their loyalty and dedication to the company over the past eight years."

Countryway has premiums in excess of $33 million and operates primarily in rural New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Virginia. The company’s headquarters will remain in Syracuse.

Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. is the largest domestic writer of property and casualty insurance and the largest writer of farm insurance products in Virginia.

With nearly 150,000 members in 88 county Farm Bureaus, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation is Virginia’s largest farmers’ advocacy group. Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization committed to protecting Virginia’s farms and ensuring a safe, fresh and locally grown food supply.

Organized in 1934, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance is the largest writer of farm insurance and the second-largest writer of auto and homeowner’s insurance in Indiana.