Raise the price, lower the value--a good business exit strategy.
I saw similar behavior from Chubb (who had been a good home insurer over the years) on Cape Cod. Over a period of about 3 years, they tried to double the rates, because they wanted to get out of the business there because of presumed wind exposure (water isn't an issue inland, even on the Cape, if you're 50 feet above sea level). They didn't say, "go away," instead, they just raised prices so high that you had to look for alternatives, and there were plenty of them.
I think your analogy is apt.