Homeowners Insurance Rates to Stay Low: Mississippi Commissioner Protests

State Farm has another 30 days to justify its recent request to raise homeowner’s insurance rates for coastal Mississippi residents, says Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney. Although their proposal for a 45% increase has been rejected by Chaney, they continue to push for it. In response, Chaney has handed over a list of 12 questions for State Farm to answer about its rates.

In doing this, he hopes that the insurance provider will cease its insistence, taking this as an opportunity to rethink their move. “I’m not going to approve 45%,” he says. “If that happens, it’ll be because of a court order, not because I’ve ordered it”.

The proposed homeowner’s insurance increase would cause the rates of almost 25 000 homeowners in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties. Because State Farm has stopped writing new business in coastal areas, Chaney is concerned that it may withdraw from the state and drop the over 25 000 policies if it does not receive the increase. However, State Farm has stated that it will cooperate with Chaney, in hopes that they will be able to come to an agreement.

“We are committed to the Mississippi marketplace,” said State Farm spokesman David Majors, who also believes that Chaney must find a balance between protecting insurance consumers and ensuring that providers are solvent. When asked about withdrawal, he said that “it is not part of [their] plans at this point.”