Tips for State Farm policyholders who are shopping around.

Some State Farm policyholders are still debating whether to switch to a new insurer in light of the insurer's announcement that it plans to leave Florida's property insurance market.

Those who have decided to shop around seem equally perplexed.

"I'm 60 years old and I haven't had to shop for insurance in 30 years...and it's in the worst hurricane environment in the world when no one is writing," Chuck Clymer, a State Farm policyholder in Lake Worth, said today when he called me suggesting I do a checklist for people like him. "I had to go to the phone book - Well, good luck with that."

Here are some tips for Chuck and the rest of you folks shopping around.

Ask your agent to check ratings done by A.M. Best, Demotech or other rating agencies for insurers you're considering. All licensed insurers have been scrutinized by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

Look up the number of complaints a company has on the Florida Department of Financial Services' Web site.

Check out which insurers are writing the most policies in your county, their contact information, and a comparison of their rates for two particular types of homes at the state's Shop and Compare Rates Web site.

Consider trying the state's free referral service, the Florida Market Assistance Program. It matches customers who can't find property insurance with licensed agents and insurers selling new policies.

Consider enlisting the help of an independent insurance agent -- an agent that sells policies for multiple companies -- near you by searching the Florida Association of Insurance Agents Web site. State Farm will probably allow its agents to sell policies for other insurers but hasn't done so yet.


http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/housekeys/blog/2009/02/tips_for_state_farm_policyhold.html

Hmmm....I have State Farm for my car. My agent's office has left me a message saying that they want to talk to me about converting my home insurance over to them.

Thought it was only in Florida that they pulled out of. They no longer will insure Floridians.

They're still in Missouri. It's not sounding good that they pulled out of Florida though.

I already have home insurance with somebody else. State Farm wants to talk me about having them as my home insurance.

just my opinion, be careful and do all your homework before contemplating any changes or if you decide to stay w/them.

State Farm pulled out of Florida because they were not allowed to continue to raise their premiums.

State Farm has been the largest private property insurer in Florida, so when it leaves, thousands of homeowners and other policyholders in the state will have to look for coverage elsewhere.

The withdrawal plan includes coverage for homeowners, renters, condominium unit owners, personal liability, boats, personal articles, and business property and liability policies. More than 700,000 homeowners will be affected, State Farm said.

State Farm's repeated requests for higher premiums have been rejected by Florida regulators. Hill conceded that was "a factor that bought us to the realization that we need to act quickly."

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/state_14786___article.html/decision_tallahassee.html