State Auto Insurance Company, an Ohio-based insurer, has announced that it will be writing a reduced number of specific lines of business in Massachusetts, and in Rhode Island, it will no longer be writing coverage at all.
In Massachusetts, State Auto will continue writing its farm and business insurance, but no new lines of any kind will be renewed within Rhode Island.
That said, the insurance company has come to an agreement over renewal rights with Narragansett Bay Insurance Company (NBIC), so that the latter will adopt the homeowners insurance policies within both of those states. Regional president Charles McShane, Jr., from State Auto explained that “Our partnership with Narragansett Bay is about taking care of customers and our independent agents by providing them with options.”
This agreement allows NBIC to provide coverage to customers who had formerly held policies with State Auto in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, beginning on January 1, 2012. The total premiums of the over 10,000 policies affected by this agreement are worth approximately $9 million.
CEO Nick Steffey of NBIC stated that his company is looking forward to being able to offer a northeastern homeowners market that is increasing in size and stability within a region where other insurers are overhauling their strategies. According to Steffey, as a result of this, NBIC is able to build on both its numbers of current agents as well as its new agent partners.
The two insurers have already started communicating with agents in order to outline the timing and details of the agreement.
