State Farm has abandoned its plan to air a commercial during the upcoming Super Bowl, instead turning its focus on helping those impacted by the wildfires in Southern California.

"State Farm, State Farm agents, and our employees are all focused on helping customers impacted by the Southern California wildfires in the midst of this tragedy," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY Thursday.

"Our claims force is the largest in the industry and we are bringing the full scale and force of our catastrophe response teams to help customers recover – whether they are on the ground in LA or across the country," the statement reads.

"Our focus is firmly on providing support to the people of Los Angeles. We will not be advertising during the game as originally planned," the company concluded in the statement.

The company says it serves more than 8 million customers in California, more than any other insurer, and has received over 7,400 home and auto claims. The company said the numbers are expected to continue to rise as residents return to the area and assess damage. According to the insurer, it insures 250,000 homes and 880,000 automobiles in LA County alone.

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In 2023, State Farm announced it would no longer provide home insurance to new California customers because of wildfire risks and an increase in construction costs.

At the time, the insurer said it made the decision because of "historic increases in construction costs outpacing inflation, rapidly growing catastrophe exposure and a challenging reinsurance market."

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State Farm offers renewals to policyholders

In 2024, State Farm cut policies in the Santa Monica Mountains, resulting in 70% of customers in Pacific Palisades – about 1,600 homeowners – losing coverage, according to the New York Times.

The company announced Wednesday it will offer renewals to residential policyholders affected by the wildfires. The decision applies to policies held by homeowners, owners of rental dwellings, and residential community associations, including condominium associations.

Super Bowl ads

According to reporting from Front Office Sports, Fox was selling 30 seconds of ad time for about $7 million for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, which is in line with the last two Super Bowls and only slightly higher than the 2022 game.

State Farm ran a 60-second spot in last year's game that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. The ad won USA TODAY's annual Super Bowl Ad Meter, a tool used to measure public opinion surrounding Super Bowl ads.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].