Illinois Insurance Companies Raise Rates
June 7th, 09It seems that Illinois Insurance Companies have found reasons to raise the rates on coverage for millions of that state’s residents.
If you are a homeowner insured by Allstate Corp., you can expect to pay up to 27.5% more on your property insurance. Allstate is just one of many homeowner insurance companies that have recently boosted Illinois rates.
Allstate’s average rate increase will hover around 17%, but it is possible to see increases ranging from 8.5% all the way up to the aforementioned 27.5% once the company makes the changes official on June 20.
Other companies like American Family Insurance increased its rates 8.4% in throughout Illinois beginning in November 2008 while Country Financial made a recent rate increase of about 6%.
In figures released by the Insurance Information Institute, it was noted that the increases reported here actually exceed the average rate increase that was forecasted on a national level. The national rate was only expected to rise 3% to $841 for coverage.
Illinois’ largest insurer, State Farm Insurance Cos., is one company that has not raised its rate so far, but has done so previously for auto. Yet, such increases are not out of the question. Due to anti-trust regulations, representatives of State Farm were not able to comment on its plans. Of course, State Farm did increase its rates in other states. For instance, Indiana received a 16.7% increase, Minnesota an 11.6% increase, and Wisconsin received a 10.9% increase.
Most of the blame for the rate hikes is being placed on damages caused by severe weather conditions as well as higher costs associated with insurance claims. Floods, tornados, hail damage, and other environmental factors have all factored into the changes. At the same time, some point out that the state of the nation’s economy has had some effect on home insurance rates. Factors like home values, operating costs for construction work, and foreclosures have also contributed.
