In an effort to rein in on risk in North Carolina, Allstate has begun dropping homeowner’s policies for those that refuse to also purchase their auto insurance from the company. The 45,000 homeowners Allstate currently provides coverage for in the state have been informed that they must switch their auto insurance policies over to Allstate by December 15 of this year or risk losing their home insurance policies entirely. The company cites risk management as the driving force behind the initiative. Those that lose their coverage from Allstate are not being left in the cold, however, as they will be offered with comparable policies from Universal North America Insurance.
While state regulators have expressed discontent with the move, Allstate has no legal requirement to renew policies if customers will not accept new terms of service. The insurer notified the state’s Department of Insurance early in the month of its intentions as a professional courtesy. The insurer hopes to be able to provide better service and pricing as it will have a more complete grasp of the risk it faces in the state.
Allstate currently insures over 400,000 households in North Carolina. Approximately 45,000 homeowners will be affected by the plan, which will also affect owners of mobile homes. Allstate has brokered a deal with Universal in the hopes that no one will go without insurance coverage for any amount of time.
