No Push Back on Allstate Rates by Texas Insurance Regulators

Homeowner insurance rate hikes filed in Texas by Allstate Insurance in December 2011 have passed muster with Texas insurance regulators.

The company made a rate adjustment of 5.7 percent statewide for Allstate Texas Lloyds (ATL) policyholders effective for renewals processed beginning Dec. 12, 2011, according to Allstate corporate relations spokesperson Kristen Beaman.

Rates for new Allstate Fire and Casualty (AFCIC) policyholders in Texas increased by an average 9.8 percent on Dec. 12, 2011, and for existing customers effective Jan. 26, 2012.

The Texas Department of Insurance may reject an insurers’ proposed rates if they are determined to be excessive, discriminatory or inadequate.

Beaman said TDI has decided to take no action on recent increases. The rate changes for the two companies combined impact nearly 600,000 policyholders in Texas.

ATL has around 400,000 policyholders in Texas, which represent around 65 percent of Allstate’s homeowner customer base in Texas. Beaman said the rate hike will result in an average annual increase of $68 per customer.

For AFCIC customers, the annual impact per policy is $124. Allstate Fire and Casualty has 185,000 homeowners policies in place in Texas, representing 35 percent of Allstate homeowners customers.

AFCIC is also deepening its multi-line discount for customers who have both home and auto coverage with Allstate. This discount will now be 26 percent.

The rate change for ATL is the first in 12 months. Allstate Texas Lloyds increased rates by 5.4 percent effective Jan. 20, 2011. The current rate increase for AFCIC is the first since December 2010, Beaman said. At that time, rates for homeowners covered by Allstate Texas Fire and Casualty went up by 9.7 percent.

She explained that the rate changes are driven by loss costs, which are rising faster than premiums.

Topics Texas Homeowners Allstate