It is never welcome news when an insurance company announces that it is going to be increasing it’s rates. No one wants to hear that they are going to suddenly have to come up with some extra money in order to keep the insurance that they already have. Those who have homeowners insurance from State Farm, and live in Florida, are about to see the cost of their premiums go up.
Usually when I write about State Farm, it is to describe something interesting and entertaining that this insurance company is doing. Last year, this insurance company created a series of commercials that involved setting things on fire. The purpose was to show homeowners a very vivid example of exactly how much damage a fire could cause them. These ads aired around Christmas, since that is the time of year when a lot of fires happen in homes, due to faulty lights, overloaded electrical outlets, and more.
Not too long ago, the State Farm insurance jingle was covered by the band Weezer. This may be the only time in history for something like this to happen. To me, this is pretty interesting news, especially considering that Weezer has been around for a while and are a successful band. I feel like Weezer didn’t need to cover the jingle, which implies that the band did it because they wanted to.
Today, however, the news regarding State Farm Insurance isn’t anywhere near as positive. It turns out that State Farm, the largest private homeowners insurance provider in Florida, is about to raise their premiums by an average of 18.8%
Originally, State Farm asked to be given permission to raise their rates by 28%. However, that wasn’t approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation in Florida. State Farm feels that the 18.8% increase that they have been given permission to do is “an important step” towards allowing the insurance company to remain viable in Florida. It will let them stay in business. The insurance company also feels that the increase will help them to cover their losses due to rising costs, as well as to cover their losses from hurricanes and from sinkholes. This increase will affect 632,000 State Farm customers in Florida.
Image by Scott Kirsner on Flickr