It Figures

135
The number of homeowners in Alabama’s Fairhope-Daphne area whose policies were set to be non-renewed by State Farm Insurance but are expected to have their coverage retained. State Farm had notified the Alabama Department of Insurance that it would non-renew 2,650 policies over the course of the next 12 months. The affected areas were primarily located within 1,000 feet of the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay. But Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell said the insurers had reconsidered some policies.

16%
The average auto insurance rate cut promised by State Farm if Florida ends its no-fault accident system in October as scheduled. The no-fault system requires drivers to get $10,000 in personal injury protection coverage, but restricts their right to sue. If no-fault expires, customers would be able to buy optional medical coverage, but it would be cheaper than personal injury coverage.

$4.2 million
The amount in compensatory damages that Tennessee jurors awarded the surviving relatives of a man who died after being cared for in a nursing home owned by the National Healthcare Corp. Plaintiffs maintained the company was more focused on making money than caring for its patients. Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley vacated any punitive damages assessed against NHC.

4
The number of volunteer firefighters charged by Tennessee authorities with arson in connection with two house fires in Bell Buckle. Bedford County Sheriff Randall Boyce said all suspects have confessed to parts of the charges against them. Fires at other buildings during the past year were also investigated, but the men were only being charged with the two house fires, Boyce said.

$1.25 billion
The total dividends that State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. announced it will pay to its mutual auto insurance policyholders in 46 states, the District of Columbia and the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The figure eclipses the previous high of just over $1 billion in June, 2000.

65%
The percentage of personal lines new written premiums that are automobile liability and physical damage lines, according to A.M. Best. The rating organization estimates that the personal lines segment will report strong earnings and capital growth in 2006, driven by several factors, including favorable frequency and severity trends, modest catastrophic activity and the maintenance of pricing and underwriting discipline.