Florida Peninsula Insurance Co., a Boca Raton-based domestic insurer writing homeowners, condo and renters policies statewide, said it is prepared to insure up to 100,000 State Farm Florida customers as that insurer withdraws from the state.
Peninsula said it is ranks fifth among domestic writers and in the top 10 of all companies offering multi-peril homeowners insurance in the state. The company insures approximately 110,000 dwellings with annual premiums of $190 million. It markets through independent agents. The company began writing in Florida in April 2005.
Peninsula is the second company to publicly declare its interest in picking up business as State Farm pursues its two-year withdrawal plan. Last week, John Jerger, president of American Traditions Insurance Co. and Modern USA Insurance Co., announced that his companies are prepared to take on as many as 30,000 State Farm residential policyholders.
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has said he has spoken with 15 carriers interested in assuming from 50,000 up to as many as 500,000 policies each. “We have ample capacity in the private sector and believe most policyholders will be able to be placed at rates as good as State Farm’s or better,” he said. He declined to name the companies but said his department would make sure they are financially capable of assuming the business.
McCarty last week released his response to State Farm’s withdrawal to which he has attached conditions. McCarty wants State Farm to let its agents write for other insurers and he wants to block State Farm from placing any of the nonrenewing business in state-backed Citizens Property Insurance.
State Farm’s own timetable calls for it to nonrenew about 470,000 property policies over the next year. Many of these could end up in Citizens since that is the only other insurer State Farm agents can use.
State Farm would also nonrenew all of its 58,000 boatowners policies in the first year. Then all remaining policies would be nonrenewed in the second year.
State Farm is reviewing McCarty’s plan.
Florida Peninsula
www.floridapeninsula.com
Topics Florida
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