State Farm in Florida [update: will not withdraw]

[realtordanielle]

State Farm just announced this morning that they are pulling their
Homeowner's Insurance Policies Out of the State of Florida. This will
affect over 800,000 property owners, all Florida State Farm Agencies
and Offices, and all of their Florida Employees. Could the real estate
market and economy get any worse??

 

[TooFarTampa]

Yikes!

State Farm Insurance won't sell Florida property policies

Gov. Charlie Crist effectively said good riddance. "They probably charge the highest rates in the state, anyway. Floridians will be much better off without them." When asked if State Farm was "posturing," Crist said, "I don't really know, and I don't really care."

Later Crist said he would support any lawmaker who took a better crack at tweaking the cherry-picking law to prevent State Farm from writing auto policies.

Anyone who has a SF auto policy, it's time to cancel immediately.

 

[dgsevier]

I just got of the phone with my SF agent here in TN. We have an umbrella liability policy that extends to our home in SGB. She informed me that there would be no changes because the policy is not concerned with the structure, only with the liability.

That was good news.

 

[Danny Burns]

State Farm dropped us immediately after Ivan. We had no damage and there has never been a claim filed on this house in 10 years...WTF! We cancelled our State Farm auto policy one week after they dropped our homeownwers policy, but I don't think they cared much. Insurance, what a scam!!!

 

[Smiling JOe]

I'm not surprised. I dropped State Farm two years ago, for my auto policies, too. From what I understand, State Farm treated some of their customer like crap in Mississippi after the storms in 2004 and 2005. Also, after those storms, they stopped writing policies on properties within 5000ft (almost one mile) from the Gulf and 500ft from the Bay, which basically means that they weren't writing any policies in south of the Bay in Walton County. No surprise here.

 

[Bob]

like a bad neighbor....

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...ll-out-of-florida-012709,0,6930901.storyState Farm to stop offering homeowners insurance in Florida

Anika Myers Palm | Sentinel Staff Writer
11:54 AM EST, January 27, 2009

Citing its inability to win state approval to raise its property insurance rates, State Farm Florida said Tuesday that it has filed plans to pull out of Florida's homeowners insurance market.

The company has submitted a two-year plan to state insurance regulators that it says will minimize disruptions and allow its current policyholders enough time to find new coverage.

"Faced with steeply declining resources to cover future claims and expenses, State Farm Florida has little choice," Jim Thompson, president of State Farm Florida, said in a prepared statement. "This is not an action we wanted to take, but one we must take given the realities of the Florida property insurance market."

Most recently, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty on Jan. 12 denied the company's request for a 47 percent rate increase.

 

[Bob]

state farm isn't there

 

[30ashopper]

Government mandates caps on insurance company rates. Insurance companies run the numbers and realize they are risking major loss. Insurance companies pull out of the market. Government takes over and insures the people insurance companies felt were a bad risk at the rates the government forced them to charge. Government realizes they can charge certain people one rate and other people another rate independent of risk.

Socialism gains, capitalism dies.

 

[Dia]

Doesn't USAA do the same thing?

*edited to add that they will insure automobiles but not houses in Florida.

 

[Matt J]

I'm not surprised. I dropped State Farm two years ago, for my auto policies, too. From what I understand, State Farm treated some of their customer like crap in Mississippi after the storms in 2004 and 2005. Also, after those storms, they stopped writing policies on properties within 5000ft (almost one mile) from the Gulf and 500ft from the Bay, which basically means that they weren't writing any policies in south of the Bay in Walton County. No surprise here.

Crap is an understatement. Some friends of ours lived 20 miles from the Gulf and lost everything. State Farm claimed it was flooding, they weren't within 2 miles of a body of water, and they are still fighting to get their money. They were faithful customers for 10 years. State Farm sucks and I hope they go under after all the bailout money is gone.