State farm News

Top West Insurance Journal Stories of 2023

Insurers pulling back from an increasingly risky California market grabbed the attention of Insurance Journal readers this year. This was the subject of the top four most popular stories in Insurance Journal’s West region in 2023. Eight articles on this …

5th Circuit Reverses Class Certification in Lawsuit Alleging State Farm Undervalued Total-Loss Claims

A federal appellate court reversed a trial court’s decision to certify a class of plaintiffs in a lawsuit that alleged State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. undervalued total-loss claims by Louisiana claimants. A panel of the 5th Circuit Court of …

Catalytic Converter Thefts Down by Half as Precious Metal Prices Drop

The number of insurance claims filed for catalytic converter thefts plummeted this year after rising dramatically in 2021 and 2022. National Insurance Crime Bureau data shows that as of Sept. 30, the number of claimed catalytic converter thefts averaged 2,675 …

Contributory Doesn’t Nix Subsequent Negligence, Alabama Court Says in UM Case

The Alabama Supreme Court has handed down two decisions that could have an impact on uninsured motorist claim payouts and on how construction surety bonds and contracts are defended. In MSE Building Co. vs. Stewart/Perry Co., Buc-ee’s Ltd. and Philadelphia …

State Farm Seeks $1.5M From Owners of Manhattan Garage That Collapsed

The collapse of a New York City garage in April was caused by the negligence of the owners of the building, according to State Farm, which is suing them to recover $1.5 million in payments to the garage’s customers who …

Former Employee With Bladder Condition Sues State Farm Alleging Disability, Racial Bias

A Georgia woman who was employed by State Farm Automobile Insurance Co. for 20 years is suing the insurer alleging she was discriminated and retaliated against because of her bladder disability. The employee, Elisa Brown, was diagnosed with overactive bladder …

Climate Change and Homeowners’ Insurance Are on a Collision Course

A summer that has already seen water crises and wildfire smoke is rapidly becoming an inflection point in the pitched battle between climate change and the price of homeowners’ insurance in the US. American International Group Inc., which has already …

Insurer Group Reacts to California Department of Insurance Musing on Cat Modeling

Insurer groups may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with a hint of a possible change in a regulator’s attitude toward the use of catastrophe modeling in the California market for wildfire insurers. The California Department …

California Insurers’ Inability to Price Risk Is Causing Headaches

California regulations restrict insurers from using sophisticated computer models to consider the rapidly growing wildfire risks from climate change — and that limitation is a factor pushing US insurers out of the state. State Farm General Insurance Co. announced at …

State Farm’s California Halt Reflects Overall Poor Underwriting Experience, Ratings Agency Says

State Farm’s announcement last week that the carrier was no longer writing new personal or business property/casualty policies in California “reflects the poor underwriting experience for California homeowners’ writers,” a ratings agency said on Wednesday. Fitch Ratings issued a statement …