Florida bristles at Farmers Insurance retreat, vows regulatory pushback

Florida may put Farmers Insurance into regulatory thumbscrews following indication that the group intends to discontinue a notable portion of its coverage in the state.

“I want additional scrutiny on this company,” state chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis said in a statement he published on Twitter.

Supervisors will take a “deeper dive” into customer complaints towards a possible “market conduct investigation” that could lead to “fines being levied against the carrier.”

“Company leadership needs to get ready, because my guess is they are about to be hauled before the Legislature to answer for their actions,” Patronis added.

Communication from Farmers looked “ham handed” with other stakeholders in the question largely kept in the dark, Patronis indicated.

Comments follow submission of a notification by Farmers to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation July 10, correspondence between that office and Farmers' indicated.

While that notification is not public, reports indicated that Farmers Insurance will drop home, auto and umbrella policies written via its exclusive agency distribution channels, which accounts for about 30% of Farmers' total Florida exposure. Underwriting from two subsidiaries present in Florida will apparently not change.

Farmers has committed to creating a "seamless and efficient" transfer of policies to rival carriers, Florida state insurance commission Michael Yaworsky noted in correspondence with the firm released by his office. Florida has already opened talks with a local insurance agent lobby group to consider a bulk transfer of policies, Patronis indicated.

Farmers will be forced to pay back pro-rata premiums paid to date on any and all cancelled policies, Patronis added in his warning.

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