If you have House Insurance with State Farm currently, you won’t have after the next 2 years.
Here’s the article from Tampa Bay Bizjournals:
State Farm Florida Insurance Co. wants to stop writing property insurance in the Sunshine State.
It’s a decision that doesn’t come as much of a surprise to state regulators, who said Tuesday they have been hearing about the company’s plan for several months.
Florida’s largest private property insurer blames its decision on its inability to obtain state approval for rate increases.
“Faced with steeply declining resources to cover future claims and expenses, State Farm Florida has little choice,” said Jim Thompson, the insurer’s president, in a press release.
The request, which requires regulatory review, would eliminate coverage for homeowners, renters, condo-unit owners, personal liability, boats, personal articles, and business property and liability policies.
It will not affect residents’ ability to obtain car, life or health insurance, or other financial services the company provides.
The company said it has submitted a two-year plan to the state that will give customers time to find other coverage. State Farm Florida said it will not be able to take action until it receives state approval.
“We will carefully review State Farm’s intended plans to ensure that they are in compliance with Florida law; and we will explore all legal options as well,” Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said in a statement.
The state has 90 days to review the plan. If approved, State Farm would need to give customers 180 days’ notice.
“This is not an action we wanted to take, but one we must take, given the realities of the Florida property insurance market,” Thompson said. “We regret the impact this will have on our customers, employees and agents in Florida.”
State Farm Florida, which services about 1.2 million residential and property insurance policies, acknowledged that, even without a hurricane in several years, its operating costs have risen, while state-mandated discounts have cut into its revenue.
It said that, during the first three quarters of last year, State Farm Florida saw its surplus reduced by $201 million.
In July, State Farm Florida filed for an overall statewide homeowners insurance rate increase of 47.1 percent, which was rejected by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation on Jan. 12. Below are listed the number of policies that will be impacted by State Farm Florida’s discontinuance of certain product lines:
• Apartment Policy, 2,631
• Boatowners Policy, 57,982
• Business Policy, 30,855
• Church Policy, 1,989 • Commercial Inland Marine, 2,661
• Commercial Liability Umbrella Policy, 3,749
I find this to be ridiculous, and I just called State Farm to ensure that this is accurate. This applies to everyone in Florida. Even if you’re not in a flood zone. Even if you’re not in a dangerous area. You simply will not be able to get home insurance through State Farm anymore. I’m of the opinion that if they are cutting this service, they need to pull out of Florida all together. Same with Allstate, for that matter. If they don’t want to offer the full array of services, why let them in at all?
Luckily for me, I’m not a home owner currently. I know a lot of people who are, several who have State Farm, and this is not going to end well.
In these tough times, it seems to a lot of local businesses are falling apart. Tampa’s own tortilla favorite La Bonita Olé (La Bonita Ole, Inc. 5804 E. Columbus Drive Tampa, FL 33619, 1-800-522-6648), is about to become one of those casualties.