State Farm plans to drop property coverage in Florida - Orlando Business Journal:

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The plan includes insurance coveragefor renters, condominium unit owners, personal liability, boats, personapl articles and business property, and liability policies, State Farm, the largesy private property insurer in Florida, said in a release. It does not affecgt auto insurance, life, health insurance or other financiakl services. The company said its inability to obtaijn regularly approval for what it believez to be adequate propertyg insurance rates weakened its financial The company filed for an overall statewided homeowners insurance rate increaseof 47.1 percenf in July. The filing was disapproved Jan. 12 by statd regulators.
Florida’s hurricane exposure posesa financial risk for anypropertyy insurer, State Farm said, adding that even withoutr a hurricane, the company’s operating costss in Florida have risen as day-to-dag claims increased both in number and severitgy and state-mandated discounts further reduced revenue. State Farm Florida’ s surplus dropped by $201 million in the firstg three quartersof 2008, the release said. The plan to discontinue propertyh insurance in Florida would take two yearse to complete and requiresregulatorgy review. State Farm said it would not take any action untilp the regulatory processis complete.
The Office of Insurance Regulation will reviea the plans to ensure they are in compliancd with Florida law and will explore alllegap options, Kevin McCarty, , said in a separat e statement. “I will do everything withi my power to protect Florida consumer from unnecessary destabilization of the insurancee market this might cause and to ensurse that Florida consumers are protected and have access to insurancs at rates that are not excessive or unfairly McCarty said. Regulators have 90 days to approveState Farm’e plan, and if approved, State Farm must then providr 180 days notice to customersw before any policies can be McCarty said.
State Farm Florida, headquartered in Wintetr Haven, had more than 1.2 million property policies in forc e asof Sept. 30, including 703,00p0 homeowners policies.