AUTO HAIL REPAIR NEWS

State Farm to exclude wind, hail coverage

The Spanish Wells Plantation resident learned that State Farm Insurance Cos. would be excluding wind and hail converge if he renews the policy in March.

"I was pretty disappointed because I hadn't seen anything generally that would lead me to expect that State Farm was restricting their coverage," Neville said.

But he won't be alone in the change. State Farm will exclude wind and hail coverage -- the part of the policy that would cover hurricane damage -- for 2 percent of its policies up for renewal, said Bruce White, company spokesman. The change took effect Jan. 1.

The exclusion of wind and hail coverage will only come on policies within the service area of the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association, also called the wind pool, White said.

The wind pool is a state-mandated association of insurance companies that makes wind and hail insurance available as a last resort to residents in coastal areas. The wind pool increased its rates an average of 35 percent in October.

Not all homeowners policies in the wind pool will exclude wind, White said. Only homes "in close proximity to the water" would face the exclusion, but for proprietary reasons, the company wouldn't publicly define the area more specifically, White said.

The number of state and county homeowners affected was unavailable. State Farm has about 26 percent of the state homeowners market, and roughly 2 percent of those face the exclusion. Meanwhile, the company is increasing its discount on auto premiums to 15 percent from 10 percent for customers who carry homeowners and auto coverage with State Farm, White said.

State Farm has been excluding wind and hail coverage on new policies written from homes in close proximity to the water for about two years, White said.

Neville, whose home is several hundred yards off of the water, said he has to wait until his policy's end date in March to get a rate quote without wind and hail from State Farm.

"In the meantime, I imagine I'll make some calls to some of the other companies," said Neville, who has been a State Farm customer for 23 years.