My family always had coverage, automobile and homeowners, with State Farm. When I bought my first house in 1992 I had coverage with State Farm. When I moved to Florida in 2001 and bought my house here, I specifically requested information on a local State Farm agent and promptly purchased homeowners coverage here as well. Over the next 8 years, I never made a single claim on the State Farm policy and my house was not damaged in any of the hurricanes or tropical storms that ravaged the state. I was a little disconcerted when the first inklings came about that State Farm was going to leave the state. My policy was going to renew in May and I did not want to pay premiums to State Farm only to have them leave, forcing me to find new coverage for my home. As many of you know, it is very difficult to find a homeowners carrier in this state, regardless of prior claim history or location. I was "lucky" enough to find a carrier where the premium would be about the same after increasing the deductible to $1000.
So good luck to all of you who will be looking for coverage over the coming months. You may want to seek out an independent insurance agent who has access to many other carriers to increase your chances of success. You can visit the Florida Association of Independent Agents (FAIA) website to search for an agent in your area.
