Home Insurers in Georgia Want to Hike Rates

A year after most Georgia insurers increased homeowners premiums by 9 to 23 percent, a new wave of increase requests is pending.

State Farm, Georgia’s largest writer of homeowners policies, is seeking a 7 percent increase for next year. That would be on top of increases of 20 percent since the start of 2010, state officials said.

Travelers Group, the state’s third-largest homeowners insurer, has filed plans for an increase of about 18 percent. Auto Owners Group wants a 22 percent jump.

Steve Manders, director of insurance product review at the Georgia Department of Insurance, said a series of storms in 2008 and 2009 resulted in companies paying out a large number of claims.

“Most of it is weather-driven,” he said.

Georgia law does not give the commissioner the authority to set the rate, but the department negotiates based on what it believes is reasonable.

“In 2010 we paid out more than we took in, which has been the trend now for several years,” said Justin Tomczak, a State Farm spokesman.

Manders said most Georgia insurers are in the same position.