STATE FARM WON'T RENEW HOMEOWNERS COVERAGE FOR 72,000 CALIFORNIA HOMES AND APARTMENTS

State Farm will cease renewing home and apartment insurance policies in California starting July 3, affecting 72,000 policyholders. The withdrawal will be done gradually, starting with homeowners, rental dwellings, residential community association, and business owners’ policies, followed by commercial apartment policies on August 20.

Affected policyholders will be informed before their policies expire and provided with alternative coverage options. Independent agents in California will continue servicing unaffected policies. State Farm, which ceased offering new homeowner policies in the state last May, attributed the decision to inflation, natural disasters, reinsurance rates, and outdated insurance regulations.

Renters insurance will remain unaffected. The company will non-renew approximately 30,000 homeowners, rental dwelling, and other property insurance policies, and withdraw from offering approximately 42,000 commercial apartment policies. These policies represent slightly over 2% of State Farm General's policy count in California.

Other insurance companies have also left California, including four Kemper subsidiaries and Farmers Direct Property and Casualty Insurance. These departures often cite the region's increasing climate-related risks and reinsurance rates. In response to the uptick in non-renewal notices, the California Department of Insurance has released 10 tips for finding residential insurance and a help page for filing consumer complaints.