Encompass Insurance Announces Florida Withdrawal
Feb 20, 2009
The news below regarding Encompass Insurance’s withdrawal of its property insurance coverage from the State of Florida was posted to Jacksonville.com today, February 20, 2009.
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Encompass ending property insurance in Florida
The decision will affect 13,000 property owners in the state.
Jacksonville.com
By David Bauerlein Story updated at 6:45 AM on Friday, Feb. 20, 2009
Encompass sent letters this week to its Florida customers notifying them the company will withdraw from the state’s property insurance market.
The departure is similar to State Farm Florida’s decision to exit the state for property insurance, but with a much smaller impact. Encompass has about 13,000 property insurance customers in Florida, according to the company. State Farm’s decision affected about 1.2 million customers.
Like State Farm, Encompass intends to continue selling automobile insurance in Florida.
The Allstate Corp. formed Encompass to sell insurance through independent insurance agents. Encompass is withdrawing from property insurance coverage because it cannot sustain continued losses in Florida, said company spokeswoman Jeralyn Thompson.
She said Encompass will follow up in the future with notices of nonrenewal as customers get nearer to the ending date for their policies. She said customers who have been with Encompass for at least five years will get six months notice before their polices are nonrenewed. Customers with Encompass for less than five years will get notices 100 days in advance of their policies ending.
Thompson said independent agents can show Encompass customers what their options are for coverage from other insurance companies.
“I don’t think it’s going to be tremendous market destruction by any means,” said David Miller, president of Brightway Insurance of Jacksonville, which is an agent for Encompass. “There are more than enough companies for customers to make the transition.”
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