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State Farm Florida Plans to Discontinue Property Insurance

Posted by Bob Gernert on January 27, 2009 at 12:47 pm

Plans call for a two year process. All customers will receive at least six-month’s notice.

State Farm Florida Insurance Company (State Farm Florida), the state’s largest private property insurer, today announced plans to discontinue its Florida property (homeowners) insurance product lines. This decision includes insurance for homeowners, renters, condominium unit owners, personal liability, boats, personal watercraft, and business property and liability policies.

“The decision to discontinue our property line of business was extremely hard to make,” said Chris Neal, local Winter Haven State Farm Florida spokesperson. “This is not an action we wanted to take, but one we must take given the realities of the Florida property insurance market.”

“State Farm Florida is faced with steeply declining resources to cover future claims and expenses,” Neal said. “Any further financial weakening could prevent us from honoring our obligations to our customers. Because we value the relationship we have with our customers, we could never allow that to happen,” Neal said.

“We know this will be hard on our customers – and on our employees and agents,” Neal said. “We value the relationship we have with our property customers and wish there was a way that we could continue to serve them.”

It is important to know that this plan only involves property insurance coverage – such as homeowners, renters, condominium unit owners, according to Neal. State Farm agents will continue to offer products through State Farm Mutual and other affiliates, such as auto insurance, life insurance and financial services. The plan requires regulatory approval, and State Farm Florida will not be taking any action under the plan until approval is received.

State Farm Florida operations are based locally at the State Farm Winter Haven Operations Center located at 7401 Cypress Gardens Blvd. Of the approximate 1,700 associates who work at the Winter Haven Operations Center, approximately 300 employees currently work for State Farm Florida.

“Our priority is to make any future plans as seamless to our employees as possible,” Neal said. “We are considering every option when it comes to our employees, and we are committed to helping our employees navigate this process.”

The potential impact on both customers and employees will not be immediate: the plan outlines for a 2-year process, and every customer will receive at least 6 months’ (180 days) notice.

“We want to minimize the disruption to our customers and employees. State Farm remains strongly committed to supporting employees and the local Polk County community throughout the transition,” Neal said. “We want to remain a strong part of our communities.”

See other entries filed in: General Announcements, State Farm Florida