State Farm shouldn't ask Californians to pay more

[quaint]

KTLA

As State Farm seeks to raise rates in the aftermath of the destructive wildfires in Southern California, one consumer advocacy group is asking state officials to step in.

Consumer Watchdog sent a pair of letters to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara objecting to State Farm’s pushing for “an immediate 22% rate increase for homeowners, along with a 15% increase for renters and condo owners and a 38% increase for rental dwellings,” the organization said in a news release.

State Farm seeks to charge customers more not because “it cannot pay wildfire claims, but because it wants to protect its Wall Street credit rating,” the release added.

[Think. Again.]

1. They shouldn't be able to raise rates on existing and agreed upon policies...

...but if someone is dumb enough to want to live in areas that are prone to disasters due to climate collapse, new policies written for those areas should reflect the risk.

[quaint]

3. Many people who have lived in their homes for decades have little choice.

[Think. Again.]

4. Correct, those would be the existing policies I mentioned.

[quaint]

5. Oops, my eyes missed the "want to" part.

Heart apology.

[Think. Again.]

7. Thanks!

[PJMcK]

2. All insurance in the U.S. is for-profit

What else should we expect when insurance companies are publicly owned/traded commodities?

It was striking to me that the United HealthCare executive who was murdered in NYC was on his way to talk to investors about his company’s profit expectations. He wasn’t going to talk with pharmaceutical executives about drug prices or doctors about billing and efficiencies. He was going to address profits! (In no way do I condone his murder.)

State Farm issued policies based on their best guesses but they were wrong. How is this business to survive if they don’t have the money to pay claims?

For-profit insurance is a rip off and produces terrible results. It’s as bad as Vegas in that insurance is a bet: the customer bets they’ll lose and need coverage while the insurer collects premiums betting they’ll won’t have to pay out. What a scam.

A recent chart I saw listed the top 25 developed countries and how many people in each country had to file for bankruptcy last year due to medical bills. In 24 nations, there were zero but in the U.S., there were over 675,000!

The U.S. is not a great country in the way its people are treated. It has always been thus.

[twodogsbarking]

6. After 9/11 my insurance company/agent tried to increase my home and auto by 25%.

Last edited Sat Feb 8, 2025, 11:01 AM - Edit history (1)

I changed companies. My house and car are far from NYC. MFs

[damifino10]

8. My Question is............

Why do these insurance companies continue their advertising when they are pulling out of areas, canceling policies. making claimants battle for their payments??? TV ads constantly. We on the west coast have been subsidizing the southern regions re-re-re-building of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods for decades.
I understand the insurance model of business but that doesn't mean that it is even close to perfection.