CEI Explains State Farm Withdrawal From Florida Market

State Farm today announced its plans to withdraw from Florida’s property insurance market. Over the next two years, the company—America’s second largest home insurer and the largest private insurer in Florida—will discontinue all homeowners’ policies in the state.

“State Farm’s departure from Florida is yet another example of how government intrusion in the marketplace discourages private companies from competing with one another,” said Christian Camara, the Director of  the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Florida Office. “Every time an insurer leaves Florida, risk is concentrated in less companies, which results in higher insurance premiums for all Floridians.”

Camara says that the legislature should consider efforts to reduce restrictions on the free market, shrink the size of Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, and reduce the scope of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. “With the economic hardships facing Floridians today, restoring a healthy, competitive insurance environment in Florida should be a top legislative priority,” he says.