State Farm Florida drops rates for homeowners

Homeowners Insurance

State Farm Florida announces rate decreases for South Florida homes

A lot of insurance news concerning Florida revolves around the rate increases that consumers could be facing in the near future. This week, however, looks to be a time for some good insurance news. State Farm Florida has announced that consumers in heavily populated areas in South Florida can expect to see their insurance rates decrease. The insurer has been granted approval foState Farm Homeowners Insurancer a rate decrease by state regulators and new rates are expected to take effect within the coming months.

Lower rates expected to affect 57,000 policies

According to the new rates, consumers will see an average decrease of 8.4% on their homeowners policies. The rates are expected to affect more than 57,000 homeowners throughout South Florida, some of whom are in risk-prone regions of the state that have been pummeled by natural disasters in the past. Some of these homeowners will see their rates decrease by as little as 6.4%, with other seeing decreases as high as 10%.

Fewer disasters spur rate cuts

State Farm Florida had once been the largest homeowners insurance group in the state. Now, the insurer accounts for approximately 403,000 policies. The insurer had been keen to shed policies in the past due to Florida’s exposure to natural disasters, which had presented a serious financial risk to the company. Since 2009, state regulators have approved rate increase proposals coming from the insurer five times. Now, the insurer is looking to lower rates due to more comprehensive policies, better construction of homes, and a lower frequency of natural disasters this year.

Current conditions of Florida homeowners insurance market: State Farm Florida and policies from Citizens Property Insurance

Per media spokesperson, Michal Bower, on current speculation of the deployment of Citizen’s homeowners policies, “State Farm is not currently participating in, or currently preparing to participate in, a program in which the company assumes Citizens policies as part of their depopulation efforts.” Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run insurance group is being pressured to depopulate due to financial concerns. As such, policies are being bought up by private insurance groups. These policies represent a promising opportunity for insurers to break into Florida’s market once again.

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