These insurance companies control the biggest chunks of the market

State Farm, with its likable "Jake from State Farm" character, is at the top of the list with a 9% company market share. Berkshire Hathaway, which owns Geico, and Progressive are next with 6.5% and 6%, respectively. Allstate and Liberty Mutual, tied with 5.2% of the market share, round out the top five insurance companies by market share.

A key aspect of their success is minimizing their own risk, which also lowers their customers' risk.

"The national carriers are very knowledgeable of risk and can be very helpful to communities as well as individual policyholders on how to manage risks," said Janet Ruiz, director of strategic communications at the Insurance Information Institute, an industry association group.

Do you need to know how to keep your valuables safe or protect your home against wind damage? Or, do you need to know the best ways to theft-proof your sedan? Top insurers work overtime to position themselves as experts to lessen the risk to their current and potential policyholders. Keep reading to find out which insurance companies control the most significant portions of the market.

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Companies with the largest market share

Overall, the top 11 insurance companies control 50% of the industry. Many other industries are much more consolidated than this, with five or fewer companies controlling 66% or even 99% of the market share.

By contrast, the U.S. has ​​3,708 property, casualty, and direct insurance businesses, according to industry research firm IBISWorld.

"The insurance market is more diversified than many industries because it uses the 'law of large numbers,'" Ruiz said. The more policyholders there are, the more accurate the company's understanding of its risk, reports Project Invest, a nonprofit that teaches high school and college students about the basics of the insurance business.

The lack of an insurance monopoly means consumers have multiple options for finding the best insurance coverage and rates. Today, legacy insurance companies share the marketplace with more digital-native insurance startups that may rely on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Each insurer decides what part of a particular market it may want, based in part on its assessments of risk—which includes massive data collection and technology to analyze that information for risk prediction. The most profitable strategy is to serve the least-risky policyholders from multiple locations. That way, the insurers avoid significant losses if one area experiences a catastrophe, such as a hurricane, tornado, or wildfire.

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Homeowners insurance

1. State Farm (18.35% of total market share)

2. Allstate (9.02% of total market share)

3. Liberty Mutual (7.31% of total market share)

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Medical professional liability

1. Berkshire Hathaway (18.38% of total market share)

2. The Doctors Company (9.71% of total market share)

3. ProAssurance (6.17% of total market share)

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Workers' compensation

1. Travelers (6.69% of total market share)

2. The Hartford (6.39% of total market share)

3. AmTrust (5.56% of total market share)

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Other liability

1. Chubb (7.56% of total market share)

2. Berkshire Hathaway (5.07% of total market share)

3. Liberty Mutual (4.6% of total market share)

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Private car insurance

1. State Farm (16.84% of total market share)

2. Progressive (14.05% of total market share)

3. Berkshire Hathaway (13.76% of total market share)

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Commercial car insurance

1. Progressive (15.53% of total market share)

2. Travelers (5.26% of total market share)

3. Liberty Mutual (3.93% of total market share)

Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Abigail Renaud.