Florida Rate Increase Boosts State Farm Insurance Outlook

April 24, 2011

A premium increase granted by Florida is putting State Farm and other insurers in a better credit light, Moody’s said this week.

In its “Weekly Credit Report,” the rating agency said that several personal-lines insurers have had volatility in earnings despite the recent quiet hurricane seasons.

In Florida, insurers complain that sinkhole claims have gone up beyond what is a reasonable assumption for how many actual sinkholes should have occurred, and those claims have replaced hurricanes in terms of the biggest problems for the companies here in the last couple years.

The Office of Insurance Regulation’s approval of an 18.8 percent rate increase for State Farm “allows the company to remain in a market where its non-catastrophe losses increased by 94 percent over the past three years, primarily from increased sinkhole claims,” Moody’s said, even though the increase was below the 28 percent sought by State Farm.

Comments

3 Responses to “Florida Rate Increase Boosts State Farm Insurance Outlook”

  1. tigger6046 on April 24th, 2011 7:56 pm

    State Farm is not the hometown company it used to be. I have a clean record of driving and they have still gone up on rates….I went to company that is just as highly rated in the insurance world and saved 400.00 a year with the same coverages that I had with….State Farm, Our office of Insurance Regulations at the State Capital needs to remember who they are supposed to be protecting….THE TAX PAYER…not State Farm!

  2. Arthro on April 24th, 2011 6:17 pm

    Beaners, do you think State Farm had only 1 claim two years ago??? They insured 1.2 million properties in Florida at the time. Considering that they are the largest private insurer still in Florida, I’d be willing to bet they had more claims than any company except maybe Citizens.

  3. Beaners on April 24th, 2011 11:22 am

    Up 94% so that doesn’t tell you anything so if two years ago if they had 1 claim that means that it went up to almost 2 claims. Percentages don’t reflect the actual financial lost that a company may have experienced. Also in order to reflect actual hardship, the statement should contain the other loses the company had or didn’t have in the last couple of years.