RICHMOND—This year, Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. was once again named among Ward's Top 50 Property-Casualty Companies.

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

"This marks the fifth year in a row that our insurance group has received this prestigious recognition," said Bob Brown, VFBMIC executive vice president and general manager. "We attribute this success to our commitment to supporting our members while driving strong financial results for our organization. This recognition stems from our financial stability, superior customer service and competitive products."

Each year, Ward Group analyzes the financial performance of nearly 2,900 property and casualty insurance companies in the U.S. 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.

Brown said premium growth has been robust for both VFBMIC and Countryway Insurance Co., part of the Farm Bureau family of companies.

"Our teams' efforts statewide have driven these strong financial results for our organization," he continued. "Our local agents do an outstanding job serving our policyholders."

Companies selected for the Ward's 50 were identified as 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.

VFBMIC joined four other Farm Bureau insurance companies recognized as Top 50 P&C companies: Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Co., Rural Mutual Insurance Co. in Wisconsin, Nodak Insurance Co. in North Dakota and Farm Bureau P&C Insurance Co. in Iowa.

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.