State Farm Requesting Changes on Texas Homeowners Coverage

September 16, 2011

Stae Farm Insurance filed a notice requesting a rate hike averaging 10 percent across the state in Texas homeowners insurance rates, but company officials were quick to announce that with new and larger discounts, homeowners are likely to see effective increases of only 1.4 percent.

Earlier this week, the Dallas Morning News also reported another proposal from State Farm, shifting the deductible on homeowners coverage to 1 percent of the home’s insured value rather than the current schedule of flat-rate deductibles that can be as low as $500.

Representatives of State Farm explained that the new deductibles reflect the increased cost to repair homes after claim-worthy damage.

The requested start-date for these changes is October 15th for new customers and December 1st for those who are already State Farm customers.

A recently established Texas law mandates that the state insurance commissioner completes a review of such requests within thirty days.