Farmers Files Homeowners Rate Increase in Texas
Stating it’s the first rate change in two years for its “Texas Family Home Policy,” Farmers Insurance Group, through Texas Farmers Insurance Company, filed a rate increase for the policy with the Texas Department of Insurance.
The company said the increase would impact 200,000 customers who have a Texas Family Home Policy,” or approximately 35 percent of Farmers’ homeowners customers in the state.
The rate change will average a 7.9 percent increase across Texas but varies by regions of the state from +3.2 percent to a maximum of +13.5 percent.
For example, Dallas County will see a rate change in the range of +3.2-3.5 percent, while Harris County will see a rate increase of +9.5 percent. The variation depends on a territory’s exposure to catastrophic risk.
Farmers said it is asking the state for the rate adjustment for a number of reasons: increased loss trends due to rising costs; an additional purchase of reinsurance in 2008 to cover the increased risk of catastrophic loss; and an increase in the number of claims filed across the state.
Farmers Insurance Group is the third largest property and casualty company in Texas with approximately 13 percent of the market share. With 34 offices and nearly 5,300 employees statewide, Farmers Insurance contributes at least $844 million annually to the Texas economy.
Source: Farmers Insurance Group