AUTO, HOMEOWNER RATE DECREASES OK’D

Three insurance companies have been granted rate decreases by the West Virginia Insurance Comm-ission, including: Erie Insurance Co., 3.1 percent decrease in private passenger auto insurance, goes into effect Aug. 1; State Farm Insurance, 10 percent decrease for private auto insurance policies, in effect July 8; Westfield Insurance Co., 7.7 percent decrease in private automobile rates and a 6 percent decrease in homeowners rates, effective July 1.

In addition, Allstate and Nationwide have also pledged to Insurance Commissioner Jane Kline to lower their rates.

Erie Insurance has a network of more than 7,200 independent agents in 11 states and the District of Columbia.

Westfield is one of Ohio’s largest non-public companies. It has a network of more than 1,200 independent insurance agencies and writes policies in 28 states.

The rate changes are being requested due to the recent passage of insurance and civil justice reforms by the West Virginia Legislature.

According to Kline, most West Virginia drivers can expect their auto insurance premiums to fall around 5 percent as carriers pass on savings from new insurance laws. The five insurers carry about 70 percent of policies held in the state, and their reductions will represent a 5.4 percent average decline from the premiums they currently charge.

The state’s biggest homeowner insurance carriers have pledged to cut rates $3 million since this year’s insurance reforms were signed. And the West Virginia Physicians’ Mutual Insurance Co., the doctor-run insurer created last year to provide more affordable malpractice coverage, has seen claims filed drop about 25 percent, making a rate decrease likely in the future, Kline said.

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