State Farm Wants to Quit Florida

State Farm, Florida’s largest private insurer, wants to quit the market for homeowners’ insurance.  In a plan announced Tuesday, State Farm proposes to exit the market within two years.

State Farm claims that they can no longer operate in the Florida home market profitably.  The state’s Office of Insurance Regulation has refused State Farm’s last request for a 47% average rate increase.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was quite stern in his reply to the announcement:

“They probably charged about the highest rates in the state anyway,”
Crist said. “I think that Floridians will be much better off without
them.”