JEFF HARRINGTON
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
Regulators have approved an average rate hike of 18.8 percent for Florida homeowners covered by State Farm, according to state documents filed Friday.

The higher rates, which are less than the 28 percent boost State Farm sought, will take effect July 1 for new business and beginning July 15 for renewals. Separately, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty approved a 62 percent increase for State Farm’s commercial residential policies, which cover homes that are owned by a person or business entity and rented to others.

While the rate increase was significantly less than it asked for, State Farm isn’t talking about pulling out of Florida, as it did the last time a major rate boost was turned down in its entirety.

In Miami-Dade and Broward, where State Farm has more than 65,000 policies, rate changes will range from a 9.8 percent decrease to a 64.3 percent increase, depending on the type of policy and exact area, Office of Insurance Regulation’s data show.

The rate approval "is an important step for State Farm Florida to remain viable in this marketplace," company spokesman Michael Grimes said. "We’ll continue to work with regulators and legislators to encourage market reform."

Florida has been spared a major hurricane for more than five years. But State Farm, the largest private insurer in Florida, maintains that it needs to boost premiums for its 632,000 policyholders because of rising costs unrelated to hurricanes.

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