WASHINGTON, D.C. — CEOs at America’s largest auto and homeowners insurance companies took home huge salaries, bonuses, and stock options in 2025, while ordinary consumers struggled to pay premiums and often could not get affordable coverage. Research by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) found that executives at ten of the nation’s largest property and casualty insurance companies raked in over $155 million in total compensation. At the same time, these ten corporations used policyholder premiums to fund almost $12 billion in advertising and paid out at least $4.8 billion in dividends to their shareholders. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, auto insurance costs have increased 55% since February 2020, putting massive strain on drivers’ budgets. A CFA report found that from 2021 to 2024, homeowners insurance costs increased by an average of 24% nationwide, well above the rate of inflation. In 2025, insurance companies responded by rewarding their top executives with an 18% raise over their collective 2024 compensation. 

“Insurance companies raised rates on their customers in 2025 and increased the paydays for their executives,” said Michael DeLong, CFA’s Research and Advocacy Associate. “Consumers are struggling to afford coverage, with no relief in sight, while their premium dollars are funneled into executive bonuses, unrelenting expensive advertising, stockholder payouts, and even private jets.”

The table below summarizes the publicly reported insurance executive compensation paid in 2024 and 2025, as well as the 2025 advertising expenses of the various insurers, 2025 shareholder dividends paid by insurers, and private jets maintained by the companies. Unless otherwise noted, the executive compensation data are from reports made to the Nebraska Department of Insurance, which requires insurance companies that sell policies in that state to provide information about the salaries, bonuses, and additional compensation of their CEOs and other top executives. Since the data reported to the Department of Insurance may exclude compensation paid to executives by affiliated insurance companies, it is likely that the compensation figures below underrepresent what some of the executives actually earned. 

Private Jets: Executives Flying High While Policyholders Are Weighed Down

Earlier this year, Brian Shearer of Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator presented research revealing that four of the top ten companies selling home and auto insurance maintain 12 private jets. State Farm and Travelers each own four jets, while Liberty Mutual maintains three and Progressive owns one, according to PlaneSpotters.net.

Only Pay for What You Need: CFA Calls on State Lawmakers to Prevent Pass-through of Corporate Excess

Pointing to Liberty Mutual’s advertising slogan – “you only pay for what you need” – the Consumer Federation of America calls on lawmakers across America to adopt strong “prior approval” oversight of insurance company rates. This oversight requires insurers to disclose and justify both their claim costs and their administrative expenses, including executive compensation, to state regulators. CFA points to a California Department of Insurance rule that limits the amount of executive compensation and advertising expenditures that can be passed on to policyholders in their insurance rates as a model that other states should adopt. 

Under this California rule (“Excluded Expenses” 10 CCR §2644.10), the Department of Insurance has a formula to determine the “maximum permissible executive compensation” for the five highest paid executives at the insurance company. Any salary above that is incorporated into an “excluded expense” calculation that is used to lower the rate that an insurer is allowed to charge California consumers. This exclusion, along with a similar exclusion that prevents insurer corporate advertising costs, lobbying and political expenses, and fines and litigation costs associated with violations of law from being passed through to policyholders, saves Californians millions of dollars per year and should be adopted across the country. 

“Drivers are required to buy auto insurance, and homeowners are required to buy insurance in order to hold a mortgage,” said Michael DeLong. “Lawmakers and regulators have a responsibility to make sure the premiums we are charged are reasonable. And that includes protecting consumers’ wallets from these extraordinary CEO pay packages and corporate excesses that are currently pushed onto our premiums.”