Posted on 12/08/2006 6:17:12 AM PST by Hydroshock
NEW YORK - Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, said Thursday it will stop writing new homeowner policies in New Jersey on Feb. 5, citing concern a hurricane might strike the state.
The state's second-largest home insurer after State Farm said the change will not affect 230,000 homeowners who already have policies with the company.
Allstate will no longer write new policies for owners of homes, condominiums, mobile homes and landlords. It said it will also not renew policies for about 300 commercial customers in eight coastal counties.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
They are pulling out of LA and MS as well.
I read an article that Mexico is another place where people try to soak the system, so insurance companies won't write fire insurance policies there. That's why all Mexican houses are built with brick or cinderblock - no fire insurance. The article was in the San Diego Reader a few years back.
They may have been hurting after 2005 but I understand they reaped windfall profits after a relatively quiet 2006.
Cancel your policy, if you have one with them, or don't buy one from them, encourage others to do so, as well. It's a free (somewhat for now) country. Other than that there is nothing you can do, unless you want to go the statist route, and have the government dictate to them that they HAVE to offer insurance to new homes in high risk area.
They have the right to choose what business they want to offer, and a responsibility to thier share holders, in order to make a profit.
Inland Jersey floods in many areas from storms coming up from the south or over from the west and people keep rebuilding in places that get hit, like along the Wayne river. Coastal Jersey gets hit hard by nor'easters. It's not just hurricanes.
I think you are on to something. These decisions collectively will aid Hillary and her offer of government aid and more and bigger programs.
Its a business. We live in a capitalist free market system.
If that changes, let me know.
For life insurance. Property is another issue. Seems like Allstate's trying to hedge its bets against castastrophic payouts. They lost 3 billion last year. Made a billion back last quarter. Heaven knows how much they need to put away for their rainy-day fund. I kinda feel sorry for the insurance companies actually. People engage in high risk behavior. Are as litigious as heck. Expect other people to pay for their pleasures. Insurance companies exist to make money. Must be hard to do when 9 or 10 figure losses can occur in a few hours.
That's the kind of silly talk one would expect on DU. Insurance companies are in business to make a profit, no other reason. (As are almost all other businesses*.) They would be very glad to write policies if they could collect premiums that offset the risks. Most of the worst risk (Katrina or 9/11 like loses) are reinsured through collabratives likes Lloyds.
Clearly, All-but-some-States does not believe that regulators would allow them to charge premiums that would allow them to make a profit.
*There are exceptions, e.g., Air America.
The overwhelming majority of those in the insurance industry are honorable, and honest people.
If insurors are such "slimeballs", why aren't you self-insuring? What kind of person would continually funnel money to "slimeballs"?
It would be so nice, just for one day, to not hear how Americans are scum. You have made it clear that today will not be that day.
Allstate is worthless anyway. Homeowners will be better served with another insurer anyway. We plan to change insurers as soon as we move and never, ever insure with them again.
FREE National home insurance.
And Texas. They are not writing any "Windstorm" policies either.
Insurance is nothing but a racket. They are no better than the trial lawyers on the other end of the spectrum. Pay premiums up the wazzo for years and never file a claim. Then when you file one, they give the finger salute and raise your premiums to make you drop their policy or they give you notice they are cancelling your policy. Yet none of these big insurers are anywhere close to being in the red, nowhere close.
Not insuring high risk properties lowers rates for those who aren't high risk. It is as simple as that.
I agree they have a right to carry who they choose but the public has a right to change carriers. If they don't want the new owners, the other companies may follow suit. Saying well this doesn't affect me so I don't care, is just letting a foot in the door IMO. No, I don't want the government involved but they already are. We can't get flood insurance anywhere else. Is hurricane insurance next?
No matter where you live, you are a high risk for something and we all carry the load.
This is becomming SOP here in NJ! Prefered Mutual cancelled our Business Owners Policy two months after 9-11. We never, ever filed a claim. I guess owning a retail business in "rural" Sussex County, NJ is too much of a risk.
That's strange because I didn't think that acts of war were covered to begin with.
I quit Allstate after 30 years.
Their rates are outrageous.
I had one claim for a hail damaged roof and they kept trying to recoup those costs by rate increases.
I now have a new home twice the size of the last one at half the premium of the old one.
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