Parts of Florida may see a small economic boost in Jobs. Allstate Insurance Company wants to expand its presence there and open around 50 new agencies. They’re estimating about 130 new jobs across the state would be created by this addition of offices.
This is a big move for the insurance company that just six years ago dropped more than 95 thousand policies, and began scaling back the private property policies (in Florida). They based their decision to expand their agencies because of the huge growth in the north Florida area.
They believe this will enable them a better way to serve the customers in that area, and obtain new customers as well. They are operating under the name of Castle Key Insurance Company and Castle Key Indemnity Company. They changed their name (in Florida only) in 2009.
The company changed the names of their Florida firms to better represent the stand alone strength of their property insurance companies. The Castle Key firms are capitalized independently from the other Allstate branches. Between the two they hold well over 170 million dollars, plus surplus in capital, and have over 230 thousand policies.
Part of the giant boom of growth in north Florida may be due to the sudden increase in Hispanic families who have decided to make this area their new homes. Many families have left the overcrowded cities to settle down in the small town communities of Florida. Besides the low cost of living, they like the closeness of the small towns.
The U.S. Census shows that in just ten years, Gadsden and surrounding counties (Big Bend area) have increased over 10 percent in Hispanic population. At this time Allstate has around one thousand exclusive agents in Florida. The company is also considering taking out policies from Citizens Insurance Corp., a state funded insurance company.