Leaving the family farm in 1918 to tend to his ailing spouse, Mecherle joined an automobile insurance company and quickly discovered that farmers were charged the same auto insurance rates as non-farmers even though they were consistently less accident prone. Since his employer refused to offer differential rates, Mecherle started his own firm, State Farm Insurance and began a career that would revolutionize the insurance business – introducing low risk rates, safe driver discounts, and semi-annual payment plans. His company became the largest property and casualty insurer in the United States and one of the 20 largest corporations on the Fortune 500.