State Farm Seeks Rate Hikes In Property Insurance

TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) -- While their motto may be "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there", the insurer isn't being very 'neighborly' in its latest request to the state. The Insurance giant State Farm is back before Florida insurance regulators asking for significant increases in homeowners premiums.

State Farm Florida presents its case at a public rate hearing Tuesday. The insurer seeks a hike of nearly 28 percent in homeowners policies. The company is also asking for a hike of nearly 96 percent for coverage that protects against multiple perils for businesses and homes or combines property and liability coverage in one policy.

Multiperil coverage could also include protection against sinkhole claims, which have exploded in recent years at a great cost to the insurance industry.

In 2009, State Farm received approval for a 28 percent increase in the average policy and another 6.6 percent increase last year. The insurer covers nearly 700 thousand homes in Florida. It is the largest private property insurer in Florida. State-backed Citizens is the largest.

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