Farmers Insurance Commercial 2016 Bear Sighting. Farmers Insurance TV Spot, 'Bear Sighting'. On Oct. 19, 2014, a man opens his garage door to take out the trash and finds a bear sitting on a blue bin holding a raw steak in its mouth. The animal had destroyed the room and eaten all the food. Without flinching or changing his expression, the dumbstruck man closes the garage door. In the present day, a Farmers Insurance spokesman played by J.K. Simmons refers to the incident as "smash and grub" to a woman who experienced the same problem and assures her that the company covers it. "We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two," Simmons explains.