HOMEOWNERS: Peter Scott and Teresa Ferguson lost his mother and their home in the 1991 Oakland fire. Their insurance policy didnt have the coverage they thought it did, so rebuilding costs hit hard. (Robert Durell / LAT / September 22, 2006) |
Allstate has refused to renew 30,000 policies in New York City and Long Island, and suggested it may make further cuts. Other insurers, including Nationwide and MetLife, have raised to as much as 5% of a home's value the amount policyholders must pay before insurance kicks in, or say they will write no new policies in coastal areas.
South Carolina
Agents say most insurers have stopped selling hurricane coverage along the coast. Those that still do have raised their rates by as much as 100%. The state-created fallback insurer is expected to more than double its business from 21,000 policies last year to more than 50,000.
Florida
Allstate has offloaded 120,000 homeowners to a start-up insurer and has said it will drop more as policies come up for renewal. State-created Citizens Property, now the state's largest homeowners insurer with 1.2 million policies, was forced to use tax dollars and issue bonds to plug a $1.6-billion financial hole due to hurricane claims. The second-largest, Poe Financial Group, went bankrupt this summer, leaving 300,000 to find coverage elsewhere. The state also has separate funds to sell insurers below-market reinsurance and cover businesses. Controversy over insurance was a major issue in this fall's election campaign, causing fissures in the dominant GOP.
Louisiana
The state's largest residential insurer, State Farm, will no longer offer wind and hail coverage as part of homeowners policies in southern Louisiana. In areas where it still covers these dangers, it will require homeowners to pay up to 5% of losses themselves before insurance kicks in. In a move state regulators call illegal and are fighting, Allstate is seeking to transfer wind and hail coverage for 30,000 of its existing customers to the state-created Citizens Insurance.
Texas
Allstate and five smaller insurers have canceled hurricane coverage for about 100,000 homeowners and have said they will write no new policies in coastal areas. Texas' largest insurer, State Farm, is seeking to raise its rates by more than 50% along the coast and 20% statewide.
California
The state has bucked the trend toward higher homeowners insurance rates with three major insurers, State Farm, Hartford and USAA, seeking rate reductions of 11% to 22%. Regulators have begun to question whether insurers are making excessive profits after finding that major companies spent only 41 cents of every premium dollar paying claims and related expenses. Alone among major firms, Allstate is seeking a 12.2% rate hike.
Washington
Allstate has dropped earthquake coverage for about 40,000 customers and will have its agents offer the quake insurance of another company when selling homeowners policies in the state. Nationally, the company has canceled quake coverage for more than 400,000.
Sources: Risk Management Solutions (map); interviews with state insurance regulators
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About this series
The insurance revolution is the latest chapter in a little-noticed change that's transforming the material lives of many, perhaps most Americans — a quarter-century-long shift of economic risk from the broad shoulders of business and government to the backs of working Americans. Previous Los Angeles Times stories on this phenomenon, plus a profile of Risk Management Solutions founder Hemant Shah, can be found at http://www.latimes.com/newdeal .
South Carolina
Agents say most insurers have stopped selling hurricane coverage along the coast. Those that still do have raised their rates by as much as 100%. The state-created fallback insurer is expected to more than double its business from 21,000 policies last year to more than 50,000.
Florida
Allstate has offloaded 120,000 homeowners to a start-up insurer and has said it will drop more as policies come up for renewal. State-created Citizens Property, now the state's largest homeowners insurer with 1.2 million policies, was forced to use tax dollars and issue bonds to plug a $1.6-billion financial hole due to hurricane claims. The second-largest, Poe Financial Group, went bankrupt this summer, leaving 300,000 to find coverage elsewhere. The state also has separate funds to sell insurers below-market reinsurance and cover businesses. Controversy over insurance was a major issue in this fall's election campaign, causing fissures in the dominant GOP.
Louisiana
The state's largest residential insurer, State Farm, will no longer offer wind and hail coverage as part of homeowners policies in southern Louisiana. In areas where it still covers these dangers, it will require homeowners to pay up to 5% of losses themselves before insurance kicks in. In a move state regulators call illegal and are fighting, Allstate is seeking to transfer wind and hail coverage for 30,000 of its existing customers to the state-created Citizens Insurance.
Texas
Allstate and five smaller insurers have canceled hurricane coverage for about 100,000 homeowners and have said they will write no new policies in coastal areas. Texas' largest insurer, State Farm, is seeking to raise its rates by more than 50% along the coast and 20% statewide.
California
The state has bucked the trend toward higher homeowners insurance rates with three major insurers, State Farm, Hartford and USAA, seeking rate reductions of 11% to 22%. Regulators have begun to question whether insurers are making excessive profits after finding that major companies spent only 41 cents of every premium dollar paying claims and related expenses. Alone among major firms, Allstate is seeking a 12.2% rate hike.
Washington
Allstate has dropped earthquake coverage for about 40,000 customers and will have its agents offer the quake insurance of another company when selling homeowners policies in the state. Nationally, the company has canceled quake coverage for more than 400,000.
Sources: Risk Management Solutions (map); interviews with state insurance regulators
**
About this series
The insurance revolution is the latest chapter in a little-noticed change that's transforming the material lives of many, perhaps most Americans — a quarter-century-long shift of economic risk from the broad shoulders of business and government to the backs of working Americans. Previous Los Angeles Times stories on this phenomenon, plus a profile of Risk Management Solutions founder Hemant Shah, can be found at http://www.latimes.com/newdeal .
