Jacksonville Florida Homeowners Insurance News

The large homeowners insurance company, State Farm of Florida,  has just requested a 28 percent increase on homeowners insurance rates due to many sinkhole claims in the Sunshine State. This request comes as many Florida lawmakers are trying to fix the sinkhole issue occuring in the state.  There will be a legislative session which convenes March 8, 2011 to try and come up with a solution for the rising costs of homeowners insurance in Florida. 

Forida State Farm spokesperson Chris Neal recently said that the push for the rate request is the rise in the insurer’s non-catastrophe losses, which have increased by over 90 percent over the last few years. By far, he said, the majority of that increase is due to the rise in sinkhole losses. In 2007, the carrier paid out just $47 million in sinkhole claims, a figure that has increased steadily with the carrier paying out over $119 million in the first three quarters of 2010.

Read more today at:  http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/02/01/182926.htm

 Jacksonville, Florida (32256) — Many Jacksonville residents are starting to find out how the marketplace of homeowners insurance is changing.”This reduction is representative of the tough times faced by insurers from both the natural environment and the regulatory environment in the state of Florida”, noted Agnew of Premier Homeowners Insurance.  State insurance commissioner Kevin McCarty has sounded a warning bell to lawmakers that some insurance companies could be put out of business if a major hurricane were to hit Florida.  Read the full homeowners insurance article today.