Farmers Insurance drops coverage in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Farmers Insurance announced Tuesday that it would no longer write new policies or renew existing homeowner, auto and umbrella policies in Florida.

“This business decision was necessary to effectively manage risk exposure,” Farmers Insurance spokesman Trevor Chapman said in an email. “Farmers offers insurance through several different brands, and this decision applies only to policies issued through our exclusive agency distribution channel.”

The decision will impact 30% of the company’s business in Florida, Chapman said, affecting about 100,000 customers. It will not impact the 70% of policies currently in force in Florida under other Farmers brands, including Bristol West, Foremost Signature, Farmers GroupSelect and Foremost Choice, Chapman said.

Samantha Bequer, a spokeswoman for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, said in an email Tuesday that the office had “received a market reduction notice” from Farmers Insurance.

“OIR is reviewing the notice in accordance with applicable Florida Statutes,” she said. “However, the notice has been marked as a trade secret.”

Florida law requires an insurer to provide 90 days notice in writing if it intends to stop writing or cancel “any one or multiple kinds of lines of insurance.”

Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer, hinted at the move Monday on Twitter, threatening to take action if Farmers Insurance backed out of the state.

“If that’s true my office is going to explore every avenue possible for holding them accountable,” he said in a tweet. “Don’t get to leave after taking policyholder money. Can’t write auto if you’re not doing homeowners either. Zero communication!”