First Community files to raise homeowners insurance rates 23 percent

The following article was published in the St. Petersburg Times on March 21, 2011:

First Community files to raise homeowners insurance rates 23 percent 

By Jeff Harrington

First Community Insurance Co., a property insurer with about 60,000 policies statewide, has filed to raise rates an average of 23.3 percent, the latest in a string of double-digit rate increase requests.

Florida insurance regulators have scheduled a public hearing for 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Larson Building in Tallahassee. Anyone unable to attend can forward comments or concerns to ratehearings@floir.com by March 29. The subject line of the e-mail should read “First Community.”

First Community has fewer than 7,000 policies in the Tampa Bay area.

Over the past year, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has approved a number of large rate increases. Many insurers have cited a rise in nonhurricane claims, particularly related to sinkhole damage.

Find this article here: http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/banking/first-community-files-to-raise-homeowners-insurance-rates-23-percent/1158729